{"id":1049315,"date":"2021-11-23T17:59:24","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T22:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1049315"},"modified":"2021-11-23T17:59:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T22:59:29","slug":"were-being-treated-as-if-we-are-covid-itself-scientists-from-major-research-lab-push-back-against-vaccine-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/were-being-treated-as-if-we-are-covid-itself-scientists-from-major-research-lab-push-back-against-vaccine-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019re Being Treated As If We Are COVID Itself\u2019: Scientists From Major Research Lab Push Back Against Vaccine Mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwere-being-treated-as-if-we-are-covid-itself-scientists-from-major-research-lab-push-back-against-vaccine-mandate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1049315&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>One hundred and fifty scientists and employees within one of the most critical government-funded energy research labs in the country are on indefinite unpaid leave after they were denied a religious exemption request for the COVID-19 vaccine. <\/p>\n<p>They work at the historic Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL): the largest science and energy lab in the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s (DOE) network of 17 National Laboratories, and whose management is contracted out to private companies. Mainly, the scientists object to how the available COVID-19 vaccines were either developed and tested \u2014 or in the case of the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, produced \u2014 using abortion-derived fetal cell lines.<\/p>\n<p>ORNL is operated by UT-Battelle, a not-for-profit limited liability company that has government contracts with 9 of the 17 National Laboratories. ORNL began in 1943 as \u201cX-10,\u201d part of the Manhattan Project: a secret World War II-era project to develop a nuclear bomb and counter Germany\u2019s progress with nuclear fission.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire spoke with two of the UT-Battelle scientists refusing the COVID-19 vaccine because of their religious convictions \u2014 twin brothers Jordan and Rob Lefebvre. Neither of them can do their job because they\u2019re not vaccinated against COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>While UT-Battelle approved the brothers\u2019 religious exemption, it refused to offer accommodations like frequent testing or remote work, saying it would pose an undue hardship on the company. The organization also cited the criticality of conducting on-site work as part of ORNL\u2019s national missions.<\/p>\n<p>UT-Battelle presented the future possibility of improved community conditions or their ability to accommodate without bearing undue hardships as a sort of unguaranteed silver lining.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t just UT-Battelle\u2019s conclusion on the matter that struck Jordan, Rob, and their colleagues \u2014 it was the process they faced. In addition to filing a request for exemption and a letter of explanation from religious leadership, employees were required to undergo interviews arbitrating those beliefs and sign a certification statement that they haven\u2019t, wouldn\u2019t, and don\u2019t presently use certain medications and pharmaceutical products that use fetal cell lines for testing. Neither signed the statement.<\/p>\n<p>A sample of the interview questions shared with The Daily Wire debated the validity and sincerity of the employees\u2019 religious beliefs. They challenged the individual as to whether they\u2019d been practicing their religion their whole life, pried to see if the individual had other non-religious thoughts or beliefs about the vaccine, and contrasted the individual\u2019s religious beliefs to those of their leaders. Additionally, the company interrogated the individual about their past or current use of consumer and medical products that had, at some point, been tested using fetal cell lines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of it was kind of entrapment questions \u2014 why are you objecting to the vaccine when you don\u2019t object to these other things?\u201d observed Jordan.<\/p>\n<p>Rob added that they aren\u2019t opposed to vaccines \u2014 just the ones that weigh on their religious conscience. In this case, they oppose the COVID-19 vaccine due to the critical role that fetal cell lines played during testing or development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve never challenged the mandate. It\u2019s about reasonable accommodations. We\u2019re not against vaccinations [just] these vaccines specifically \u2014 many of us have religious objections,\u201d explained Rob.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan added that the treatment he and his fellow employees have endured has effectively stripped them of their humanity. He asserted that their civil liberties were at stake.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re being treated as if we are COVID itself. We have no rights at our place of work. My stewardship of millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer money to effectively manage national security missions \u2014 that doesn\u2019t matter anymore,\u201d remarked Jordan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some of UT-Battelle\u2019s employees who were denied religious accommodations ended up suing, alleging that the company had violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In that case, Jeffrey Bilyeu, et al., v. UT-Battelle, LLC, those employees were joined by those denied medical accommodations, who alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley initially awarded a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in mid-October, but couldn\u2019t award a preliminary injunction at a subsequent hearing at the end of last month.<\/p>\n<p>Although the judge said he sympathized with the employees\u2019 plight, he didn\u2019t find that the damages from unpaid leave met the standard of irreparable harm.<\/p>\n<p>Much can be said about the way UT-Battelle handled their accommodation processes. For a company that prides itself on the importance of its national security mission and the role it plays in protecting the interests of the United States, it is difficult to view the treatment of employees as thoughtful or prudent. It is difficult to imagine that other accommodations aside from unpaid leave were not available for at least some individuals. But given the absence of irreparable harm, the Court need not examine whether such accommodations were reasonable. Neither is it the Court\u2019s role to determine whether the company erred in issuing a one-size-fits-all accommodation for a group of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One hundred and fifty scientists and employees within one of the most critical government-funded energy research labs in the country are on indefinite unpaid leave after they were denied a religious exemption request for the COVID-19 vaccine. They work at the historic Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL): the largest science and energy lab in the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s (DOE) network of 17 National Laboratories, and whose management is contracted out to private companies. Mainly, the scientists object to how the available COVID-19 vaccines were either developed and tested \u2014 or in the case of the Johnson &#038; Johnson vaccine, produced \u2014 using abortion-derived fetal cell lines.ORNL is operated by UT-Battelle, a not-for-profit limited liability company that has government contracts with 9 of the 17 National Laboratories. ORNL began in 1943 as \u201cX-10,\u201d part of the Manhattan Project: a secret World War II-era project to develop a nuclear bomb and counter Germany\u2019s progress with nuclear fission.The Daily Wire spoke with two of the UT-Battelle scientists refusing the COVID-19 vaccine because of their religious convictions \u2014 twin brothers Jordan and Rob Lefebvre. Neither of them can do their job because they\u2019re not vaccinated against COVID-19.While UT-Battelle approved the brothers\u2019 religious exemption, it refused to offer accommodations like frequent testing or remote work, saying it would pose an undue hardship on the company. The organization also cited the criticality of conducting on-site work as part of ORNL\u2019s national missions.UT-Battelle presented the future possibility of improved community conditions or their ability to accommodate without bearing undue hardships as a sort of unguaranteed silver lining.It wasn\u2019t just UT-Battelle\u2019s conclusion on the matter that struck Jordan, Rob, and their colleagues \u2014 it was the process they faced. In addition to filing a request for exemption and a letter of explanation from religious leadership, employees were required to undergo interviews arbitrating those beliefs and sign a certification statement that they haven\u2019t, wouldn\u2019t, and don\u2019t presently use certain medications and pharmaceutical products that use fetal cell lines for testing. Neither signed the statement.A sample of the interview questions shared with The Daily Wire debated the validity and sincerity of the employees\u2019 religious beliefs. They challenged the individual as to whether they\u2019d been practicing their religion their whole life, pried to see if the individual had other non-religious thoughts or beliefs about the vaccine, and contrasted the individual\u2019s religious beliefs to those of their leaders. Additionally, the company interrogated the individual about their past or current use of consumer and medical products that had, at some point, been tested using fetal cell lines.\u00a0\u201cA lot of it was kind of entrapment questions \u2014 why are you objecting to the vaccine when you don\u2019t object to these other things?\u201d observed Jordan.Rob added that they aren\u2019t opposed to vaccines \u2014 just the ones that weigh on their religious conscience. In this case, they oppose the COVID-19 vaccine due to the critical role that fetal cell lines played during testing or development.\u201cWe\u2019ve never challenged the mandate. It\u2019s about reasonable accommodations. We\u2019re not against vaccinations [just] these vaccines specifically \u2014 many of us have religious objections,\u201d explained Rob.Jordan added that the treatment he and his fellow employees have endured has effectively stripped them of their humanity. He asserted that their civil liberties were at stake.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re being treated as if we are COVID itself. We have no rights at our place of work. My stewardship of millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer money to effectively manage national security missions \u2014 that doesn\u2019t matter anymore,\u201d remarked Jordan.\u00a0Some of UT-Battelle\u2019s employees who were denied religious accommodations ended up suing, alleging that the company had violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In that case, Jeffrey Bilyeu, et al., v. UT-Battelle, LLC, those employees were joined by those denied medical accommodations, who alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley initially awarded a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in mid-October, but couldn\u2019t award a preliminary injunction at a subsequent hearing at the end of last month.Although the judge said he sympathized with the employees\u2019 plight, he didn\u2019t find that the damages from unpaid leave met the standard of irreparable harm.Much can be said about the way UT-Battelle handled their accommodation processes. For a company that prides itself on the importance of its national security mission and the role it plays in protecting the interests of the United States, it is difficult to view the treatment of employees as thoughtful or prudent. It is difficult to imagine that other accommodations aside from unpaid leave were not available for at least some individuals. But given the absence of irreparable harm, the Court need not examine whether such accommodations were reasonable. Neither is it the Court\u2019s role to determine whether the company erred in issuing a one-size-fits-all accommodation for a group of employees with differing job duties and various time spent on campus. Regardless of the result of such findings, it is hard to fathom that conducting more individualized assessments was untenable for an entity with the resources of UT-Battelle. In this regard, Defendant\u2019s decisions reflect a shocking indifference to some of its employees. These employees deserve better, as does everyone associated with UT-Battelle.\u00a0Ultimately, the law requires a finding of irreparable harm for an injunction, and this harm must be concrete and imminent \u2013 not speculative or uncertain. Plaintiffs\u2019 testimony was moving, and the Court remains sympathetic to their situation. However, the harms identified by Plaintiffs are not yet \u2018irreparable.\u2019Beyond continued efforts of legal action and raising awareness, the next step for the Lefebrves and their colleagues will be finishing their discrimination charge filings with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the Lefebvres, the EEOC has identified UT-Battelle\u2019s lack of reasonable religious accommodations as a systemic complaint and has agreed to review their concerns as a group. They\u2019re anticipating advances in the EEOC\u2019s review process in these upcoming weeks.Not all vaccine mandates have held up to scrutiny as of late. In the wake of a recent federal court ruling against the Biden administration\u2019s vaccine mandate for companies with over 100 employees, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was forced to suspend the mandate pending a final court ruling.Corinne Murdock is a reporter for The Daily Wire and AZ Free News. Have something you think the mainstream media won\u2019t cover? Send tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}