EDD claim denied after COVID vaccine refusal termination - appeal advice?

same thing happened to me last year!! EDD initially denied my claim too but I appealed and WON. u need to emphasize that ur belief was sincere and consistent. I brought documentation showing i'd refused other vaccines in the past too. good luck!!

That's encouraging! Did you have legal representation at your hearing? I'm worried about going up against my former employer's HR and legal team by myself.

This is a complex issue for EDD appeals. When evaluating 'misconduct' in these cases, the judge will consider if your refusal was based on a sincerely held belief versus simply not wanting to follow company policy. For your appeal, you should gather: 1) Your written religious exemption request, 2) The employer's denial letter, 3) Any documentation showing you attempted to find accommodation, 4) Evidence that your belief was consistently held before the vaccine mandate. The key legal question will be whether your employer had a legitimate business necessity that outweighed your religious objection. Healthcare settings have generally had stronger cases due to patient safety concerns.

Thank you! That's really helpful. My religious exemption request was pretty detailed and I did try to suggest alternatives like weekly testing and extra PPE instead of the vaccine. Do you think that could help my case?

Yes, documenting that you proposed reasonable alternatives is definitely helpful. It shows you were willing to accommodate the employer's safety concerns while maintaining your beliefs. Bring copies of any emails or written documentation where you suggested these alternatives. Also bring performance reviews if they were positive - this shows the ONLY issue was the vaccine refusal, not overall job performance.

but wait isn't this all ILLEGAL?? they CANT force you to take experimental drugs!!! I thought I read somewhere that EDD changed the rules about COVID terminations back in 2024??? the whole system is CORRUPT

my cousin works at edd and told me they deny almost all covid vaccine refusal claims at first but appeals have different judges who look at each case individually. some are more sympathetic than others, kinda luck of the draw honestly

I was in a similar situation and found that calling EDD directly to discuss my case was critical. However, it took me 31 attempts over 4 days to finally reach a rep who could actually help with my specific situation. I was about to give up when someone recommended using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an EDD agent quickly. It worked surprisingly well - got me connected to a tier 2 specialist who explained exactly what documentation my judge would be looking for in my appeal. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. Definitely worth it when you're dealing with something as complicated as a misconduct denial.

does that actually work? i tried calling edd like 50 times last month and never got through

Yes, it actually connected me within about 20 minutes. The EDD rep I spoke with reviewed my file and told me specifically what legal precedents to reference in my appeal letter. Made a huge difference in how I prepared for my hearing.

The legal landscape for COVID vaccine-related terminations has evolved significantly. In California, the outcome of your appeal will largely depend on: (1) the specific wording of your employer's policy, (2) whether reasonable accommodations were considered, (3) if your position had direct patient contact, and (4) the timing of the termination relative to changing healthcare guidelines.\n\nIn my experience handling several similar cases, the most successful appeals included evidence that the employee attempted to find middle ground solutions before termination. While religious exemption documentation helps, the judge will examine whether the belief was consistently held prior to the mandate and if the employer engaged in an interactive process before terminating.\n\nBring detailed timeline documentation to your hearing showing all communications with HR. Recent appeal decisions suggest judges are increasingly considering whether employers made sufficient efforts to accommodate rather than simply enforcing blanket policies.

This is really detailed, thank you! My position did involve direct patient contact (respiratory therapist), which I'm guessing makes my case harder. Would it help to bring evidence that other staff who were vaccinated still contracted and transmitted COVID? I'm trying to show the vaccine requirement wasn't actually solving the problem they claimed it would.

While you can present that argument, be aware that judges typically defer to healthcare employers on medical safety decisions - even if those decisions proved imperfect in hindsight. A more effective approach would be focusing on how your proposed accommodations (testing, PPE) would have provided equivalent patient protection. If possible, obtain statements from colleagues who might support that you always followed all other safety protocols meticulously. The key is demonstrating your refusal was solely about the vaccine, not a general resistance to safety measures.

That makes sense. I always followed every other protocol perfectly and even volunteered for the COVID unit during the height of the pandemic before vaccines were available. I'll see if my former supervisor would provide a statement about my safety record.

i got fired for the same reason and my appeal is next week im so nervous!! did anyone here actualy win their appeal after being fired for no vax?? what exactly did the judge ask in the hearing???

yes I won!! judge mostly asked about 1) if i knew about the policy 2) if i tried to get exemption 3) if i offered alternatives like testing etc. be SUPER respectful even if the employers lawyer says things that make u mad. judges hate attitude!!

The whole EDD system is RIGGED against us!!! My brother works in healthcare and got fired for the SAME REASON and they denied his appeal even with documentation!!! Don't get your hopes up. They're all in cahoots with big pharma and don't care about our constitutional rights!!!! The ONLY people who win appeals are the ones who can afford fancy lawyers. The system is BROKEN!!

my friend didn't have a lawyer and still won his appeal tho? maybe your brother's case was different somehow

DOUBTFUL!!! they all claim to look at each case individually but they DON'T. EDD is just another corrupt govt agency pushing their agenda. They denied my brother even though he had MEDICAL reasons not just religious!!

Important update: For healthcare workers specifically, EDD has been following the precedent set in several 2024 California court cases. The most relevant is

This is incredibly helpful! I hadn't heard about that specific case. When you mention

btw prepare for ur employer to bring up EVERYTHING negative from ur employment history at the hearing!! my boss brought up a warning from like 2 yrs before that had NOTHING to do with vaccines just to make me look bad. have answers ready for ANY past issues!!

My wife just went through an appeal for this exact situation last month. The judge was actually pretty fair and asked really specific questions about the timeline of events. They were especially interested in whether the employer offered any alternatives before termination. She won her appeal because she had emails proving she requested reasonable accommodations multiple times before being fired. Document EVERYTHING!

That's encouraging! I saved all my emails with HR thankfully. How long after her hearing did she get the decision? The waiting is driving me crazy.

She got the written decision about 10 days after the hearing, but I've heard it can take up to 30 days depending on the judge's caseload. They told her at the end of the hearing that they'd mail the decision, but she was able to see it posted in her UI Online account first.

Thanks for the info! 10 days isn't too bad. I'm hoping mine comes quickly too.