NORFOLK, Va. — They refused to comply with the Navy's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Now a settlement has been reached after thousands of sailors filed a lawsuit saying their First Amendment rights were being ignored.
The case began with 35 members of the Special Warfare community and was eventually expanded into a class action suit on behalf of about 4,300 Navy SEALs and sailors.
The plaintiffs cited religious reasons for refusing the COVID-19 immunizations.
The Navy contended they violated a lawful order.
Now, after nearly three years of litigation -- under an agreement in the case announced this week -- sailors who refused the vaccine for religious reasons can now have their records corrected and will be protected against discrimination on future promotion boards.
"It makes them whole in the sense that they can continue on in their careers and be protected from having any sort of adverse considerations due to the fact that they raised their right hand to exercise their religious freedom," said First Liberty Institute senior counsel Danielle Runyan.
The Navy also agreed to post a statement affirming its respect for religious service members, to provide more training for commanders who review such requests, and to pay $1.5 million in attorneys' fees.
In an interview with 13 News Now, Runyan said the case could set a precedent for future situations regarding the military and religious freedom.
"The impact just service-wide and nationwide that this has had, this was extremely significant," she said.
But the settlement only goes so far and doesn't deal with damages or back pay.
According to the Defense Department, the military administered 8.9 million doses of the vaccine. As of March 2024, more than 2 million military members were considered to be fully vaccinated, and there were 96 military deaths related to the pandemic.