Enforcement actions regarding religious liberty have been vigorously implemented by the EEOC, with a particular focus on vaccine mandates.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been actively addressing two significant issues in the first half of the second Trump administration: preventing religious discrimination in the workplace and dealing with the challenges posed by COVID-19 vaccines.
In a series of robust actions, the EEOC has secured significant victories for workers of various faiths, as stated in a news release. The commission has been restoring evenhanded enforcement of Title VII, which recognizes religious freedom as a fundamental right that transcends workplace policies.
On the COVID-19 vaccine front, the EEOC has been particularly focused on vaccine mandates. The commission has called upon pharmaceutical companies and governmental health agencies to produce, approve, distribute, and offer ethically acceptable vaccines that do not create problems of conscience for either health care providers or the people to be vaccinated.
Two vaccines that are ethically acceptable by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are the protein-based, non-mRNA vaccine Nuvaxovid™ 2025-2026 from Novavax and the mRNA vaccine formulas from the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership. Dynavax Technologies also contributes adjuvants used in several COVID-19 vaccines.
The Catholic Church, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic groups, has issued statements supporting the receipt of COVID-19 vaccines. Catholics may receive these vaccines, but the Church stresses that such decisions should be voluntary. The morality of vaccination depends on the duty to protect one's own health and the duty to pursue the common good, according to the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
However, tensions have arisen over the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations, leading to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2024. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the regulations from impacting the plaintiffs while the case proceeds.
The current Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has taken steps to scale back the use of mRNA vaccines and has sparred with the American Academy of Pediatrics over their vaccination guidance.
It remains uncertain if updated COVID-19 vaccines for 2025 will be made available to the general public in the U.S. The EEOC continues to monitor the situation closely and encourages employers to respect the religious beliefs of their employees while ensuring a safe and healthy work environment for all.
