NYC Worker to Testify Before Religious Liberty Commission on COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in the Private Sector

Hospitality industry worker Hermione was pushed out of three jobs after requesting a religious exemption under NYC’s 2021 private sector vaccine mandates. The Commission will hear her story on Monday.

As difficult as it has been for public sector workers who were fired under New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates to seek redress, New Yorkers who lost their jobs under the private sector mandates have often faced even bleaker prospects of regaining employment or simply bringing their plight to public attention.

Now, one of them will have an opportunity to tell her story to the President’s Religious Liberty Commission (RLC). New York City hospitality worker Hermione is scheduled to testify at the fifth hearing of the RLC on Monday, February 9, at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. The hearing runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will be livestreamed.

The RLC was established in May 2025 by President Trump to assess the state of religious liberty in the United States and produce a report that will be delivered to the president in May 2026. It has held a series of hearings as part of that effort. Monday’s hearing will cover both antisemitism and religious issues in the private sector.

Guiding the Impact, a religious liberty advocacy organization, advised the RLC to examine discrimination related to the denial of religious exemptions from vaccine mandates, and urged the Commission to include religious liberty violations in the private sector workforce at the February 9 hearing.

Guiding the Impact also recommended that Hermione testify. The organization commented on the upcoming hearing:

Guiding the Impact formally submitted a witness proposal to the RLC, nominating a powerful voice to represent the experiences of individuals affected by denied religious exemptions in the private sector. We are honored and grateful that Hermione will testify live at this Monday’s hearing, bringing firsthand the real human cost of these unconstitutional policies to the Commission’s attention.

RLC Soliciting Testimony for March 16 Hearing on Religious Liberty in Healthcare and Social Services

Guiding the Impact also successfully advocated for the RLC to address religious liberty concerns in the healthcare and social services sectors, including denial of religious exemptions from vaccine mandates. The Commission will examine that topic during a March 16 hearing.

The RLC is currently soliciting issue briefs, personal stories, and witness proposals for the March 16 hearing, and will select some of the individuals who submit information to testify.

While not everyone who sends their story to the RLC will be able to testify at the hearing, all of the submissions will be reviewed and inform the Commission members as they prepare their report.

Anyone who would like to submit a brief or personal story can email it to the RLC. There is also a link on the hearing website to register to attend the March 16 hearing in Washington D.C. in person.

You can watch previous RLC hearings on the Justice Department’s YouTube channel.