The U.S. Navy is catching up to the times. Under a settlement approved by a federal court on July 24, the Navy has agreed to correct the records of SEALs and sailors who declined to receive COVID-19 vaccines due to their religious beliefs.
Lawsuit
The order for all military personnel to receive the COVID-19 vaccine came directly from President Biden, the commander-in-chief. He allowed few exemptions, so this lawsuit pitted Navy SEALs and other service members against the commander-in-chief.
The lawsuit, U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden, alleged that the Navy and the Defense Department violated their First Amendment rights to religious freedom by “categorically denying” their requests for religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Settlement
The settlement states that the defendants agree to re-review the personnel records of all class members to ensure that the U.S. Navy has permanently removed records indicating administrative separation processing or proceedings, formal counseling, and non-judicial punishment actions taken against the class members solely based on non-compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
According to their attorneys, Navy sailors who refused the vaccine for religious reasons can now have their records corrected under an agreement in the case. They will be protected against discrimination on promotion boards for three years.
Time Frame
According to the agreement, this record expungement must be completed within one year. Although the vaccine mandate was lifted in January 2023, the military personnel continued fighting the case in court. They did not want their careers penalized because of their refusal.
Who Is Entitled?
Roughly 17,000 service members, including 3,717 Marines, 2,041 Navy sailors, 1,841 Army soldiers, and 834 Air Force and Space Force members, refused the vaccine, and more than 8,400 were discharged for their decision.
By March 2022, when the Navy stopped discharging sailors for refusing the vaccine, the service had received 3,320 requests for religious exemptions from active-duty sailors and 864 from the Navy Reserve. None had been approved.
Although the vaccine mandate was lifted in January 2023, and the Navy asked to dismiss the case as irrelevant, the military personnel continued fighting the case in court. They wanted their names and records cleared.
The settlement covers all Navy members who filed a religious request for an exemption from the Navy’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were actively serving as of March 28, 2022. That includes people who rescinded their accommodation requests to leave the military. According to court documents, 4,339 individuals are affected by the settlement.
Navy Response
The Navy declined to comment on the settlement.
