News

Victory for Our Navy SEALs & Thousands of Service Members

Jorge Gomez • 4 min read

This week, First Liberty secured a massive win for our U.S. Navy SEAL clients and thousands of Navy service members.

After nearly three years of litigation, our Navy SEALs case is finally resolved after the court approved the settlement we reached with the U.S. Department of the Navy.

Our lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of dozens of U.S. Navy SEALs, other members of the Navy Special Warfare community, and Navy Special Operators and was later expanded to cover a class of all Navy service members who had religious objections to the military’s vaccine mandate.This win is great news for our clients. It’s a full and complete victory that rights the wrongs done to these brave heroes. Plus, this settlement impacts many more of America’s military personnel. It’s a broad win that gives all Navy service members more religious freedom protections than ever before.

“This has been a long and difficult journey, but the Navy SEALs never gave up,” said Danielle Runyan, Chair of the Military Practice Group and Senior Counsel at First Liberty. “We are thrilled that those members of the Navy who were guided by their conscience and steadfast in their faith will not be penalized in their Navy careers.”

In addition to our injunction and the precedent we set to protect all within the military, here’s how Navy service members will benefit:

• The settlement ensures that Navy service members who refused the COVID vaccine for religious reasons will now have an opportunity to have their records corrected and their careers protected.
• The Navy agreed to “re-review the personnel records of all Class Members to ensure that the U.S. Navy has permanently removed records indicating administrative separation processing or proceedings, formal counseling, and non-judicial punishment actions taken against the Class Member solely on the basis of non-compliance with the COVID-19 Mandate and adverse information related to non-compliance with the COVID-19 Mandate.”
• Servicemembers who elected to leave service after being mistreated by the Navy will get their records corrected.
• The Navy also agreed to post a statement affirming the Navy’s respect for religious service members, provide more training for commanders who review religious accommodation requests, revise a policy related to accommodation requests that was changed during the mandate, and pay $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees.

Service members can get more information about the settlement at:

www.navyvaxsettlement.com

Retired Navy SEAL Thanks You for Supporting Him

These military heroes are tough. They are regularly pushed to the brink in their extraordinary training to make sure that they are completely prepared for their dangerous missions. Everything changed for them, their families and their careers when the vaccine mandate came down from the brass at the Pentagon. This lengthy legal battle showed us even more just how resilient these warriors are in the face of adversity.

One of these brave warriors wanted to share his story with you today.

After more than two decades of being a Navy SEAL and seeking representation from First Liberty, Gabe shares the adversity he faced trying to get a religious accommodation.

Hear from Gabe exactly what this battle has meant for him and his family, and how much it means that YOU have been with them through every step of the way:

Gabe and our other Navy SEAL clients were never not alone. Thank you for standing strong alongside them through years of court battles. You share a big part in this victory. Your support and prayers made a huge difference in the lives of these warriors and their loved ones. Many of our Navy SEALs will be able to retire on their own terms—and countless other Navy personnel will have their careers saved.

We can never fully repay our service members for their sacrifice and service to our nation. But we can defend them in court so that the freedoms they’ve fought for are safeguarded for generations to come. Just as America’s Navy SEALs never give up on their country when serving, we at First Liberty will never give up on our service members.