Attorney General Steve Marshall (R-AL), along with state appropriators and the State Personnel Department, on Thursday issued an advisory to Alabama employers regarding medical and religious exemptions to vaccination.
In the joint advisory, Marshall noted that that numerous public entities, consisting of universities and state agencies, had received notice that they fall under the guidelines of the federal contractor vaccine mandate.
The advisory detailed that employees with sincerely held religious beliefs and medical disabilities are prescribed with the “right of reasonable accommodation,” as recognized by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It further stated that employers are mandated to adhere to these standards “regardless of whether the employer is subject to the federal contractor mandate.”
The advisory stated, “To be clear, the U.S. Constitution, the Constitution of Alabama, and federal law’s Title VII—all of which provide protection to employees seeking an exemption—are in no way preempted by the terms of a modified contract with the federal government.”
The attorney general’s advisory went on to declare, “Alabama-based employers, and particularly public university employers, should liberally construe—in favor of the employee —any exemption sought by an employee for medical or religious reasons.”
It was outlined that during review of an employee’s religious exemption request, the employer should not take the liberty to probe “into the validity of an employee’s religious beliefs, including the motives or reasons for holding the belief.” Marshall further encouraged public university employees who are “denied a reasonable request for exemption” to direct concerns to the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s office.
According to the advisory, the Attorney General’s office, in collaboration with the State Personnel Department, “will assist in transferring these employees into other public university/state employment.”
The Attorney General’s office declared that it is continuing preparations of its lawsuit against the federal government’s vaccination edict for federal contractors and noted that it would pursue a legal avenue to halt its enforcement.
Marshall’s advisory concluded, “No employee of a public university in Alabama, nor any employee of Alabama state government, will forfeit their livelihood as a result of the federal government’s flagrant overreach. Note that the Attorney General’s Office is preparing its lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s federal-contractor mandate and will seek an immediate injunction.”
The advisory comes on the heels of concerned individuals affiliated with a major public university expressing dissatisfaction over its compliance with the federal government’s vaccination requirements.
Individuals associated with Auburn University earlier this week took to protest over the academic institution’s adherence to President Joe Biden’s executive order instructing federal contractors to mandate vaccination upon its faculty and staff.
The university, as a public research institution, is considered to be a federal contractor. According to Auburn University, the academic institution holds approximately $200 million in federal contracts, which it asserted could be impacted by the president’s vaccine decree.
A notice was published by the university last week which outlined vaccination requirements for its employees.
“To ensure that Auburn can certify compliance with current and future federal contracts, the university’s vaccine policy has been modified to require that all Auburn employees must be fully vaccinated no later than Dec. 8, 2021, except in limited circumstances where an employee is legally entitled to a medical or religious accommodation,” the notice read.
The university concluded by stating that individuals who display a “failure to comply” with the policy “are subject to termination, in accordance with applicable university policies.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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