Tom Hals

(Reuters] – First Harvest Ministries in Waveland could look almost like a storage unit from the exterior if not for the steeple.

However, Shane Vaughn is the pastor of the Pentecostal church. He has spearheaded an online campaign to promote personal faith and avoid workplace COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

According to Reuters screen shots of website traffic, he posted form letters that U.S. workers requested religious exemptions. These forms were downloaded around 40,000 times from his site.

Vaughn (48), said that this is the only path out. He makes the letters available free of charge. They contain warnings for employers about legal consequences if ignored.

The Biden administration is preparing a federal vaccine mandate, and states and corporations are adding them to accelerate the end of the pandemic. Legal advocacy groups such Liberty Counsel are supporting religious leaders in their letter writing efforts.

It claimed that it had sent more than 100 letters, including to United Airlines Holdings Inc. Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE 🙂 promises to sue for religious exemption rejections.

Leslie Scott from United said that while the airline did receive the letter, it didn’t have an impact on its actions. Tyson declined to comment.

United reported that approximately 2,000 U.S. employees had requested medical or religious exemptions. Tyson stated that only “a small percentage” of the more than 100,000 United employees requested medical or religious accommodations before its Nov. 1, deadline.

Employers in the United States are legally required to adjust their work schedules to accommodate religious beliefs. However, they are allowed to seek out information about religious convictions to confirm that these beliefs are genuine.

Roger King of the HR Policy Association said that many employers would like regulators to give guidance on how to examine exemption requests in order to protect them against lawsuits alleging that they were denied.

Although there are few religious groups that oppose vaccinations, Vanderbilt University Medical Center research shows that the U.S. defines religion broadly, to cover all belief systems, even those with few followers.

“DEALING ON A MASS BASIS WITH THEM”

Employers might be able to tell if a form letter taken from the internet is genuine, according to an employment lawyer. According to lawyers, employers may have stronger legal grounds for rejecting exemption requests that were based on false and verifiable statements about vaccines.

Kimberly Harding is an employment lawyer with Nixon Peabody. She advises businesses.

Temple University Health System is Philadelphia’s 10700-plus employee hospital. It has received 180 exemption requests from religious groups, an increase of what it normally receives for the annual flu shot, stated John Lasky, chief human resources officer.

Lasky suggested that some exemption requests contained letter attachments with similar language. However, he stated they weren’t a factor in granting a request.

Lasky explained that what was most important was the ability of the patient to explain why they were unable to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

An employer in at least 1 case reversed its decision not to grant a religious exemption following receiving Liberty Counsel letters.

Lehigh Valley Health Network, Pennsylvania, told a student in nursing that it would not grant her request on Sept. 7, because the request was “factually inaccurate” and based on an incorrect link between vaccinations and abortion fetal cells. Liberty Counsel revealed correspondence which redacted student’s identity.

One week later Liberty Counsel wrote a seven page letter to Lehigh, citing Louisiana and North Dakota health officials who claimed there was an association between vaccines and fetal cell. Lehigh was asked to either accept the request by the group or be subject to “prompt legal action.”

The next day, it approved the request. Lehigh didn’t respond to our requests for comment.

In one of only a few victories in a lawsuit against vaccine mandate, he wrote a letter to Vaughn. Western Michigan University allowed a student who had used the Vaughn letter to be exempted, but he was not permitted to participate in school sports until the court intervened.

Liberty Counsel attorney Harry Mihet said that Liberty Counsel receives many messages each week from people claiming their exemption requests were denied due to improper reasons. They include whether the individual was part of a religious group that endorsed vaccinations or whether the Pope had been vaccinated. These factors have no bearing on an individual’s beliefs.

Mihet stated, “I feel these employers run the danger of being tied up with litigation until kingdom come.”

Vaughn served three years in prison for fraud. After a time running an automobile dealership, Vaughn said that now he spends 80 percent of his time helping others with their employer inquiries.

Vaughn finds it encouraging that companies are resisting his exemption letters. He said, “They make it harder and add layers to the process.” It’s proof that it works.