MacIver News Service | Nov. 4, 2021
General Electric might be offering religious exemptions to its employees from the covid vaccination, but some say the company is putting them through Hell to get them.
“The GE vax exemption form is supposedly horribly condescending and written in a way that nobody wants to sign it,” an anonymous employee told MacIver News. “It is a multiple page document ridiculing the employee and compares their desire not to get the vax to not wanting to wear a seatbelt or take Tylenol.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency rule requiring mandatory covid vaccinations for all businesses with more than 100 workers on Nov. 4th. That rule goes into effect on January 4th.
Many companies like GE started preparing for the mandate soon after President Biden announced it was coming in September. GE gave its employees until Dec. 8th to be vaccinated.
GE’s request for religious accommodation form states, “To be eligible for a possible accommodation, you must first establish that your refusal to be vaccinated is based upon a sincere belief that is religious in nature. A refusal to be vaccinated does not qualify for an accommodation if it is based upon personal preference, concerns about the possible effects of the vaccine, or political opinions. The information you provide in the form below will allow us to evaluate your request and decide whether and how we can grant an accommodation.”
There are 13 questions on the 7-page form to establish a person’s religious pedigree. Question 10 asks, “10. Does the conflict stated above between the COVID-19 vaccination requirement and your religious beliefs relate to the purported use of fetal cells in the development and/or testing of a COVID-19 vaccine?”
If the answer is yes, then the employee must go through a list of vaccines and medications that also used fetal cells in their development and identify which ones they’ve taken. The list includes: Tums, Advil, Aspirin, Preparation H, Claritin, and Benadryl just to name a few.
“If you have used any of these common medications listed as examples or any other medication (prescription, vaccine, or over the counter medication) that has used fetal cell lines in their development and/or testing, please explain how that does not conflict with your sincerely held religious beliefs,” the form continues.