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Thankful to AVFCA Lawyers for a Recent Win
that Reinforces Religious Rights in the Workplace...
Support AVFCA for more Wins TODAY!

Over recent months, several courts have upheld employees’ rights to religious exemptions from vaccine mandates throughout the country. A few weeks ago, Olina reached out to A Voice for Choice Advocacy for our help in exercising her religious beliefs against vaccination, as part of her new employment at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), where she had been offered a position through UCSF.

Olina has sincere religious beliefs and her faith does not permit her to take the vaccinations.  So in accordance with the UCSF employee vaccination policy, as part of her onboarding package, she submitted a statement declining the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as a religious exemption.  Despite being a highly qualified candidate who met all job requirements, Olina was informed that without vaccination, her offer would be rescinded.  Specifically ZSFG stated, "ZSFG does not allow exemptions, and that practice has been in place and cannot be overridden."  

From our extensive experience with religious exemptions, AVFCA immediately knew this was not constitutional, and retained our legal partners at Actium LLP to advocate for Olina’s rights.  Our legal team sought to avoid prolonged litigation and make the case directly to UCSF that ZSFG’s denial of Olina's exemption violated her rights, pointing to recent court rulings that have uniformly exposited a simple and straightforward principle: Just as institutions must offer reasonable medical accommodations for those who cannot take vaccinations, those institutions must also offer reasonable religious accommodations for those whose religious beliefs prevent them from taking vaccinations. 

AVFCA is thrilled to report that ZSFG has now fully reversed its stance, allowing Olina to immediately start her new role at ZSFG without vaccine conditions.  Olina just wants to help people, and that's why she chose health care as her calling.  We're thrilled she is no longer being asked to compromise her beliefs to fulfill her calling.

This win underscores a critical right for employees. If you or someone you know is in a similar situation, we encourage you to reach out—we’re here to help.

Thank you for helping us make victories like this possible! AVFCA is completely funded by donations made by you.  Your donations enable us to keep standing up for individuals facing similar challenges.  Over the last 9 years A Voice for Choice Advocacy, and our sister organization, A Voice for Choice, have been sustained only by grassroots donations, as well as my own significant donations.  We are so thankful to everyone who has generously donated.  However, AVFCA always needs your help to make our efforts sustainable.  If you appreciate the work we do, AVFCA asks you to donate as generously as you can - no amount is too little or too great!  If you are not already, please consider becoming a monthly donor:

www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/donate

For those not wanting to give through PayPal (we are looking to use another vendor in the near future), you can send a check, use Venmo or use Zelle:
Send Check to: A Voice for Choice Advocacy, 530 Showers Drive #7404, Mountain View CA 94040
Send Venmo to: @avoiceforchoice
Send Zelle to: [email protected]
For other ways to donate and support A Voice for Choice, please go to our website: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/donate Thank you in advance for your generosity. 

Together we can make change happen!

C

Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org