The 6th Circuit just handed down a decision in Bilyeu v. UT-Battelle that should serve as a warning to any employer tempted to test the "sincerity" of an employee’s religious belief.
UT-Battelle imposed a COVID vaccine mandate. When employees like Jeffrey Bilyeu requested a religious accommodation, the company didn't just take the request. Instead, it required them to sit through a panel interview about their beliefs, read a "fact sheet" promoting vaccines, and even explain why their religious views didn't align with those of their church leaders. If they still refused, they were placed on unpaid leave.
The district court tossed Bilyeu's claims, but the 6th Circuit revived them. Under recent Supreme Court precedent (Muldrow v. City of St. Louis and Groff v. DeJoy), employees no longer need to show that discrimination caused a "materially adverse" impact beyond the harm of being forced to choose between faith and work. And in Bilyeu's case, a jury could reasonably find that the interview and unpaid leave amounted to unlawful disparate treatment, failure to accommodate, and even retaliation.
You don't want your managers or supervisors acting as theologians. Questioning the "sincerity" of an employee's faith is a fast track to a lawsuit. Stick to what the law actually allows: evaluating whether accommodating the belief creates an undue hardship. Everything else is risk without reward.