Some consumer-based companies are treating vaccine resistance on any basis as a threat to their business. United Airlines announced that, for the time being, any employee excused from vaccination will need to go on unpaid leave.

In our view, there is no basis for a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. Under a 1977 Supreme Court case, Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, all an employer needs to show under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in order to overcome a claim of religious discrimination is that the accommodation sought by the worker imposes a de minimis burden on the employer’s business. The alternatives to vaccination—erecting shields, requiring social distancing and universal masks as well as regular testing to protect coworkers, customers, and others from a known health risk—impose a more than de minimis burden. And again, it is worth remembering that Biden’s new workplace mandate gives the option for weekly negative test results in the case of an objection to vaccination.

This policy is not an invitation to governmental overreach. It is reasonable response to a demonstrable, grave threat to both worker safety and in this case, public health.