![]() Still, in a decision that struck some observers as hairsplitting, the court said the city had an obligation to grant an exemption from anti-discrimination laws to a Catholic adoption agency that declined to license same-sex couples to be foster parents. City of Philadelphia, which gave the court a chance to overturn Smith - and to say believers should be exempt from some generally applicable laws - it declined to do so. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit considers an appeal. In Fulton v. Newsom, for instance, it blocked California from enforcing coronavirus restrictions on private gatherings, including at-home religious services, while the U.S. (For a hearing on vaccine mandates in Massachusetts, a parent wrote to lawmakers that she made use of a religious exemption in 2020 for the flu vaccine, “not because it goes against my religion, but because I do not believe that it is necessary to put additional chemicals into my child’s body.”) But the political battles over coronavirus vaccination have driven more people to seek ways around the laws.īut in the past year, the Supreme Court has indicated that it intends to strengthen protections for religious liberty - although the full contours of the change are unclear. This is not a new phenomenon, nor one limited to the coronavirus vaccines. Religious leaders have offered to sign letters requesting exemptions for anyone who wants one - for payment, or free. Writes one such person, on Facebook: “RULE #4 in writing a religious exemption: Do not mention c0v-id 19, side effects, or scientific data! Do not mention the V is under E-U-A,” or emergency-use authorization. It’s easy to find people online, for example, coaching others on how to pretend that freedom of worship is the real issue. Nursing Homes (as of October 29): 2,684 employees (1.We know that Americans game religious exemptions, because they tell us.Hospice (as of October 26): 94 employees (2%), of which, 70 are direct care staff.Licensed Home Care Service Agencies (as of October 26): 5,573 employees(2.1%), of which, 5,070 are direct care staff.Certified Home Health Agencies (as of October 26): 505 employees (4%), of which, 365 are direct care staff.Hammond provided a breakdown of the data, including the number of employees and percentages of staff impacted in each health care group. That’s 15,844 employees of hospitals, nursing homes, adult homes, Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHA), Licensed Home Care Service Agencies (LHCSA) and hospice facilities, said Jeffrey Hammond, deputy director of communications for the New York State Department of Health. Nearly 16,000 health care employees in New York State have been granted religious exemptions by their employers prior to Friday’s court ruling, the state’s health department confirmed to CNN Friday night. Religious exemptions granted to almost 16,000 workers before ruling, official said ![]() “I commend the Second Circuit’s findings affirming our first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.” “On Day One, I pledged as Governor to battle this pandemic and take bold action to protect the health of all New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. Kathy Hochul praised the court’s decision. ![]() A judge issued a temporary restraining order on September 14 related to the religious exemptions.ĬNN reached out to an attorney representing these health care workers for reaction. In the second case, 17 health care workers, many of them unnamed doctors, residents and nurses, filed a lawsuit last month objecting to the New York State Department of Health’s vaccine mandate, which didn’t allow for religious exemptions. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images “They have committed their futures to God’s hands, and we remain optimistic that the United States Supreme Court will strike down New York’s discriminatory mandate as violating the First Amendment.” “New York’s mandate forces an abominable choice on New York healthcare workers: abandon their faith or lose their careers,” said attorney Cameron Atkinson, who represents three nurses. Andrew Cuomo’s order that all hospital and long-term care facility workers were required to get at least one dose of the vaccine by September 27.ĬNN has reached out to the New York State Department of Health for comment, and details of how many exemptions the state has already provided.Īn attorney for plaintiffs in one of the cases vowed to take the case to the US Supreme Court Friday. ![]() The ongoing court cases stem from former Gov. Related article Supreme Court declines to block Maine health care employee vaccine mandate (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) Robert Alexander/Getty Images Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Judicial Branch of government.
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