An employee worked fully remotely for the Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) when TPMG implemented a COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The employee requested a religious exemption, and stated that receiving the vaccine conflicted with her sincerely held religious beliefs. TPMG asked the employee for additional information about her beliefs. Although the employee provided further explanation, TPMG denied her exemption request and ultimately terminated her employment for failing to comply with the vaccine mandate.
The employee sued TPMG under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), alleging that TPMG failed to reasonably accommodate her religious beliefs. The district court dismissed her religious accommodation claims, finding that the employee had not provided sufficient notice of her religious objection to the vaccine. The employee appealed, asking the Court to outline how much information an employee must provide an employer to satisfy the notice requirement for religious accommodation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of the employee’s religious-accommodation claims. It held that an employee does not need to prove the sincerity or validity of a religious belief when requesting an accommodation. Instead, the employee must provide enough information for the employer to understand that a religious belief conflicts with an employment requirement. The Court concluded that the employee’s exemption request and subsequent explanations gave TPMG sufficient notice of the religious conflict, and allowed her Title VII and FEHA accommodation claims to proceed.
Weiss v. Permanente Med. Grp., Inc. (9th Cir. 2026) 182 F.4th 1139.