In Jane Does 1-11 v. Board of Regents of the University of Colorado, (D CO, Jan. 27, 2022), a Colorado federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction against the COVID vaccination requirements of the University of Colorado's Medical Campus. Under a revised policy, employees are entitled to a religious accommodation if the accommodation would not unduly burden the health and safety of others. Medical students are not entitled to religious accommodations. The court found the policy neutral and generally applicable, and so subject only to rational basis review. The court said in part:
[T]he Court does not see how offering employees the opportunity to request a religious accommodation could amount to treating comparable secular activity more favorably than religious exercise. For one thing, Plaintiffs have not shown that employees and students are comparable in this context....
[A]lthough the University has determined it can accommodate some employees by allowing them to work remotely, Plaintiffs have made no showing that a similar accommodation for students is practicable. And ... the ... Policy treats employees and students differently because of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects the former but not the latter....
The court also concluded that the presence of medical exemptions does not prevent the Policy from being generally applicable.
