Court blocks Air Force from punishing unvaccinated troops seeking religious waivers
By Rachel S. Cohen
Aug 1, 05:25 PM
A federal district court judge has stopped the Air Force from expelling or otherwise punishing thousands of troops who have applied for a religious waiver to avoid COVID-19 vaccination, under a newly minted class-action lawsuit.
Southern District of Ohio Judge Matthew McFarland’s July 27 decision to certify the case, Doster v. Kendall, as a class-wide complaint temporarily protects at least 100 airmen and guardians who are part of ongoing lawsuits contesting the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate, and more than 9,000 others affected by the policy, according to Siri & Glimstad, a law firm representing the plaintiffs.
The group now includes anyone in the active duty Air Force and Space Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps who have asked for a religious exemption to the vaccine since Sept. 1, 2021, showed a sincere religious belief opposing the jab, and whose requests were denied or are not yet settled.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/08/01/court-blocks-air-force-from-punishing-unvaccinated-troops-seeking-religious-waivers/
