Court Decides Air Force ‘Wrongly’ Dismisses Religious Exemption Requests From Unvaxxed Airmen
(Worthy News) – An Ohio court Tuesday upheld a legal pause on separations for airmen who have requested religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine after finding that the Air Force “wrongly” relied on overly broad reasoning to turn down the waivers.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an ongoing class action suit prosecuted by roughly 10,000 unvaccinated active-duty, reserve and National Guard airmen who have either had their requests to avoid the vaccine on religious grounds denied or still await a decision. A circuit court in March ordered the Department of Defense (DOD), which has mandated vaccinations for all members of the military, to hold off on disciplining or separating airmen while the lawsuit progresses.
The DOD “wrongly relied on its ‘broadly formulated’ reasons for the vaccine mandate to deny specific exemptions to the Plaintiffs, especially since it has granted secular exemptions to their colleagues,” the court opinion said. [ Source: Daily Caller (Read More…) ]