https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-06/requests…
Written on letterhead with a gold seal, it warned the city agency that forcing an employee to wear a mask, get tested or be vaccinated against COVID-19 would be an “affront to a Christian” and a violation of federal laws that ban religious discrimination.
The document looked and sounded official. It was signed by the pastor of True Hope Ministry in San Clemente.
It can be purchased online for $195 as part of a vaccine exemption “concierge program.”
That letter, and others like it, have become go-to tools for California employees seeking exemptions from workplace vaccine mandates. They raise questions about what constitutes a deeply held religious belief, how those beliefs should be expressed and what employers can do about a request that may not be sincere.