A list of religious objectors

Federal agencies are tracking the personal information of government employees who seek religious exemptions from the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to recent reports. Lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation aimed at putting an end to such data collection.

The Religious Freedom Over Mandates Act, introduced Jan. 25 by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., would prohibit federal funds from being used “to establish, operate, maintain, or support any system of records” for individuals who seek a religious exemption from the federal COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Co-sponsored by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, the proposed law would also apply to federal contractors, consultants, interns, applicants, and volunteers.

The Daily Signal reported on the rule changes being rolled out by federal agencies in a Jan. 11 report and a Jan. 15 follow-up. Co-authors GianCarlo Canaparo and Sarah Parshall Perry documented new policies that mandate the collection of information on religious affiliation, the reasons and support given for religious accommodation requests, names, contact information, date of birth, aliases, home address, contact information, and other identifying information.

Fifty-five federal departments and agencies have created or proposed rule changes to facilitate such tracking of exemptions, according to Liberty Counsel Action. Among them are the Department of the Army, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Commerce.

Rule changes that relate matters such as record-keeping generally fly under the radar, said Canaparo, a legal fellow the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. “Why now?” he asked. “Why collect this information now when federal agencies have for decades had to deal with requests by employees for religious accommodation?” He concludes that the federal government is attempting to discourage employees from exercising their religious rights, “signaling hostility” toward religion. Canaparo said that in addition to the intrusiveness of the data collection requirement, there is also the danger that the federal government could use the information in a retributive action against the employee in the future.

One federal department, the Department of Defense, has failed to grant any of the thousands of religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate filed by service members. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Florida temporarily barred the Navy and Marine Corp from disciplining two officers who were denied religious exemptions. “The record creates a strong inference that the services are discriminatorily and systematically denying religious exemptions without a meaningful and fair hearing,” wrote U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday. The same judge earlier in the case demanded that each branch of the military track and report the number of exceptions requested and granted to COVID-19 vaccine requirements. The judge’s order only asked for aggregate numbers, not individual records with personal and religious information.

Thus far the administration has not responded to concerns over the rule changes, but some Republicans in Congress are demanding answers. On Jan. 24, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., sent a letter signed by 10 Republican members of Congress to President Joe Biden taking issue with the administration’s employee tracking. “Your administration has offered no valid justification for these intrusive databases that will only be used to target Americans who have refused a COVID-19 vaccine because of their religious convictions,” wrote Cline, who asked for a response no later than Feb. 11.

Unless the administration backtracks, Canaparo anticipates the rules will eventually be challenged in court.