Children's Health Defense
The U.S. Navy has settled a long-standing lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, marking a partial victory for thousands of sailors, including Navy SEALs, who refused the vaccine on religious grounds, Military.com reported.
The agreement in U.S. Navy SEALS 1-26 v. Biden, announced July 24, ensures that affected service members will have their records corrected, according to the nonprofit First Liberty Institute and law firm Hacker Stephens LLP, which represented the plaintiffs. Records will be protected for the next three years against discrimination by promotion boards based on religious accommodation in vaccine refusal.
The settlement also stipulates the Navy will restore pre-existing policies around religious exemption requests and provide more training for commanders who review them.
While the settlement includes no admission of guilt or wrongdoing, the Navy agreed to pay $1.5 million to he plaintiffs’ attorneys for legal fees.
Legal experts hailed the settlement as a significant step toward holding the military accountable for its handling of religious accommodation requests.
Danielle Runyan, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, described the case as “long and difficult” but emphasized that “the Navy SEALs never gave up.”
“We are thrilled that those members of the Navy who were guided by their conscience and steadfast in their faith will not be penalized in their Navy careers,” she said in a press release.
Kacy Dixon, a major in the U.S. Air Force serving as judge advocate general (attorney), told The Defender the settlement was a welcome “technical win … given the obvious violations by the Department of Defense and the hard-fought litigation that took place over the course of three years.” Dixon stressed that her views do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
While celebrating the settlement for addressing some immediate concerns, current and former service members who spoke with The Defender said future legal efforts must address full restitution for the harms suffered from the vaccine mandate.
Several critical issues still to be resolved include reinstatement of discharged personnel and compensation for losses suffered, including career setbacks, lost wages and healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, multiple lawsuits across different military branches are still in progress, seeking to address the broader impacts of the vaccine mandate…
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