The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this week issued two new guidance clarifying employer and employee obligations regarding religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace, allows for employees to request an exception from certain employer requirements when that requirement conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs or practices. In light of the COVID-19 virus and some employer requirements that employees become vaccinated against COVID, EEOC sought to further clarity the parameters of religious accommodations. The agency guidance provides that an employee must notify the employer that there is a conflict between his/her religious beliefs and the employer’s vaccination requirement. The employer should provide employees with the process for requesting a religious exception. In addition, the guidance advises that an employer should assume a request for religious exemption is in fact, based on sincerely held religious beliefs, but the employer may make a limited factual inquiry and/or seek additional supporting information. An employee failing to cooperate may lose any subsequent claim that the accommodation was improperly denied. Further, the employer can consider the credibility of an employee’s statements when determining sincerity of belief with actions inconsistent with the professed belief. And finally, employers can consider the number of requests for similar exemptions and/or the cumulative cost of granting accommodations to others when evaluating if granting the request would impose an undue hardship. This is significant especially in light of how many requests an employer could receive.