By Matthew Sellers | HRD
Coast Guardsmen’s challenge to their COVID-19 vaccine-related separations puts religious accommodation and HR policy under the microscope in a case decided October 14, 2025.
Six current and former United States Coast Guardsmen have brought a case against the federal government, alleging they were separated from service and denied benefits after not complying with the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The complaint, filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims, focuses on claims that their requests for religious accommodation were denied and that they lost out on service-related protections and benefits.
According to the court record, the Coast Guard denied religious accommodation requests from 1,351 service members, including the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs allege they were denied procedural rights such as administrative discharge boards, reenlistment boards, legal counsel, pre-separation medical treatment, and separation pay.
They also claim the Coast Guard did not properly distinguish between Emergency Use Authorization vaccines and FDA-approved vaccines.
After the court addressed several critical issues in a January 2025 decision, the President issued an executive order on January 27, 2025, directing the reinstatement of service members discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
This order allowed affected Coast Guardsmen to seek reinstatement, back pay, and restoration of rank and benefits.
In response, the Coast Guard sent notices to all 1,351 potentially impacted current and former members, inviting them to submit administrative claims for records correction and possible relief.
The plaintiffs moved to certify a class action to represent all affected Coast Guardsmen.
However, on October 14, 2025, the court denied class certification, finding that the proposed class was too broad and lacked the necessary commonality and typicality among claimants. The court determined that individual circumstances varied and that a class action was not suitable.
The court remanded the matter to the Coast Guard for further proceedings, with instructions to complete the review of individual claims by December 8, 2025. The decision on class certification is not final, and the remand process is ongoing.
For HR professionals, particularly in government or large organizations, this case highlights the complexities of handling religious accommodation requests and employee separations in response to policy changes. The outcome may influence how similar employment issues are managed in the future.
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