Robin Samuel is a partner in the Employment Practice Group of Baker McKenzie's Los Angeles office. Robin helps clients manage and resolve local and cross-border employment issues, whether through counseling or litigation. He advises clients on virtually all aspects of the employment relationship, including hiring and firing, wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, contract disputes, restrictive covenants, employee raiding, and trade secret matters. Clients trust Robin to handle their most sensitive and complex employment issues.
An employer whose onsite nurse refuses, for religious reasons, to administer a COVID-19 vaccination must offer the employee a reasonable accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Practically speaking, given the low showing required for undue hardship in the religious discrimination context, private employers typically can reject most requests for religious accommodation in the workplace.