In In re Whitehead, (NJ App,, Dec. 22, 2022), a New Jersey state appellate court remanded to the state Civil Service Commission for further findings an appeal by a city zoning officer whose employment was terminated after she refused to be tested for COVID in order to return to work. Plaintiff's refusal of testing was based on her religious beliefs which the court described:
She explained her refusal to undergo the test is founded on her belief the testing is required because of a fear she may be infected with COVID-19, and that fear is inconsistent with her religious belief that "God has not given us the spirit of fear." Thus, according to Whitehead, she could not, based on her religious beliefs, succumb to the fear she had COVID-19 upon which the City based its testing requirement.
The court explained its remand decision:
The ALJ determined the termination of Whitehead's employment did not violate the City's obligation under Title VII to reasonably accommodate Whitehead's religious belief because returning Whitehead to work without COVID-19 testing created an undue hardship — the risk of infecting the City's other on-site employees with COVID-19. That determination, which Whitehead does not challenge on appeal, applies solely to an accommodation — returning Whitehead to on-site work without testing — she no longer claims is reasonable, required, or appropriate...
Whitehead, however, correctly argues the ALJ did not decide her claim the City should have allowed her to work from home as a reasonable accommodation based on her asserted religious belief.
