How to Respond to Employer or School Mandates
(This post is to inform you of the facts surrounding employer mandates and COVID “vaccines.” And it informs you of your rights under both state and federal law. It does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice, please consult a qualified attorney.)
Information on NEW UTAH COVID VACCINE EXEMPTION LAW
You have no obligation to submit to medical experimentation. If your employer or school is mandating a vaccine for employment or education, please read the following information, carefully, and then decide what the best course of action is, in your case.
QUICK TIPS:
Keep a paper trail. This will be useful if you have to defend your record, or need to file a lawsuit. It also puts the employer or school staff on notice that you are tracking details that could be used in a lawsuit. (That alone causes some to back off.)
Be very careful what you say about why you object to the vaccine, what you’ve done in the past, and what you will do in exchange for employer accommodation.
Avoid phone or in person conversations. If you have a conversation, send a follow up email as soon as you return to your desk, stating what you understood from the conversation and asking for confirmation that you understood correctly.
If there is time, and you feel it would be beneficial, prior to sending a religious exemption letter, send a polite and informative letter, documenting applicable statute (below) and requesting reasonable accommodation. (If you have natural immunity, or you are working from home anyway, there is little need for you do to anything to further accommodate the employer. Use both of these to your advantage.)
If an educational conversation won’t resolve the problem, write and submit a religious exemption letter, using the information found here. (Religious exemptions should NOT include scientific research, safety data, or references to your organized religion.)
If the letter invoking your right to religious exemption is denied, file a lawsuit for a declaratory judgement (in advance of action, rather than after being fired).
DON’T QUIT! You want them to have to fire you. If they threaten your unemployment, remember that unemployment checks come from the state and the employer would have to show cause, in order to have it withheld.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Educate yourself before you approach your employer.
Start by viewing these slides presented by Dr. Paul Thomas at the 2021 Your Health Freedom Symposium.
I would use this information to educate, and persuade, not in a threatening manner, and certainly NOT as part of a religious exemption letter. DO NOT make concessions or agreements to get the vaccine.
__________
Under Federal law, religious beliefs are not limited to the doctrines of any organized religion. They are personal.
The Supreme Court has interpreted religion to mean a sincere and meaningful belief that occupies in the life of its possessor a place parallel to the place held by God in the lives of other persons. The religion or religious concept need not include belief in the existence of God or a supreme being to be within the scope of the First Amendment.
In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 88-352 (78 Stat. 241). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Religious beliefs, are not tied to the stated beliefs of an organized or officially recognized faith, don’t let anyone trap you into giving them information about your organized/recognized faith that contradicts your deeply held, personal beliefs.
__________
There is no approved Pfizer (or other) COVID vaccine in the United States. If your employer or school is trying to mandate the Emergency Use Authorized injections, please provide your employer or school with the following information, and take additional action, if needed.
From a letter to Rutgers, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.:
Though many university vaccination requirements for licensed and approved vaccines have been upheld in court, no court has ever upheld a mandate for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) vaccine, which all COVID vaccines are at present. In fact, a federal court has held that EUA vaccines cannot be mandated to soldiers in the U.S. military, who enjoy far fewer rights than civilians, Doe #1 v. Rumsfeld, 297 F.Supp.2d 119 (2003). That court remarkably held “….the United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs.” Id. at 135.
Federal law 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III) requires that the person to whom an EUA vaccine is administered be advised, “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks.” The reason for the right of refusal stems from the fact that EUA products are by definition experimental. Under the Nuremberg Code, no one may be coerced to participate in a medical experiment. Consent of the individual is “absolutely essential.” The liability for forced participation in a medical experiment, not to mention injury from such coerced medical intervention, may be incalculable.
The consequences described in the statute mean medical consequences, not termination of employment or denial of in-person learning, as Rutgers contemplates.*
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-Rutgers-President-3.26.21.pdf
Regarding the Pfizer vaccine: “It is an investigational vaccine not licensed for any indication.” See FDA letter to Pfizer, Inc., 2/25/2021, p. 2, ¶ 1 (“Pfizer letter”). It is an “unapproved product[.]” See, Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 Vaccine to Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), p. 1, ¶ 1 (parentheses in original). “On December 11, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine…pursuant to” 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3. See Pfizer letter, p. 1, ¶¶ 1-2.
Regarding the Moderna vaccine: “It is an investigational vaccine not licensed for any indication.” See FDA letter to ModernaTX, Inc., 12/18/2020, p. 2, ¶ 3 (“Moderna letter”). “The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is an unapproved product that may prevent COVID-19. There is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19.” See Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Individuals 18 Years of Age and Older, p. 1, ¶ 8 (parentheses in original). “…I am authorizing the emergency use of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine….” See Moderna letter, p. 2. ¶ 4.
Regarding the J&J vaccine: “It is an investigational vaccine not licensed for any indication.” See FDA letter to Janssen Biotech, Inc., 2/27/2021, p. 1, ¶ 3 (“J&J letter”). “I am authorizing the emergency use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine….” Id. at p. 2, ¶ 2.
In addition, if you are in Utah, HB308 from the 2021 General Legislative Session, prohibits any government entity from requiring an EUA injection. Although the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine is approved, the Pfizer vaccine that is available in the United States, the one we’ve been using for months, is NOT approved. There is no approved vaccine available in the United States.
STUDENTS
If you are a student at a Utah school, HB233, passed in the General Session in 2021, allows all, except medical students, access to personal, religious, and medical exemptions. Medical students are eligible for a Title VII religious exemption.
Get the exemption. Please insist that your K-12 public school follow state and federal law (detailed above) and that administrators notify students of their legal option to get exemptions.
On the higher education level, let the university know that you are taking a religious exemption.
If you are at a private university, submit a Title VII religious exemption letter.
If that is denied, organize and let the administration you are organized and willing to both walk, and sue, if vaccination becomes required. Print and deliver a copy of the Notice of Medical Fraud to your school administrators.
NOTE: Federal law on EUA applies even to medical students.
EMPLOYEES
Follow the Quick Tips listed above. See information on how to write a religious exemption here.
Organize with other employees. Let employers know that you are not willing to be part of this experiment. Print and deliver a copy of the Notice of Medical Fraud to your employer.
As a final resort, file a lawsuit for a declaratory judgement (in advance of action, rather than after being fired).
______________
Additional Resources
Legal opinion on religious exemption for Emergency Use Authorizations:
Letter-in-Response-to-DOJ-Slip-Opinion-Released-on-July-26-2021-SiriDownload
UPDATE: The replacement for the Pfizer vaccine has been FDA approved for those 16 and older. At this point, our best defense is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion.
The Pfizer vaccine, itself, was not approved. It was announced as approved, setting of a cascade of mandates. But it is not the approved vaccine, and the approved vaccine is not available in the United States.
Also see:
The Belmont Report, and the Code of Federal Regulations (codification of the Belmont Report findings).
(This is not legal advice. I am not an attorney, but multiple attorneys contributed to this list of recommendations.)
_________
*EUA language secures a “right to refuse,” which would be inconsistent with “getting fired if you refuse.” If you can be fired for refusing, you don’t have a right to refuse.