RESTORE Act
The RESTORE Act would create a special internal review process within the Department of Defense (DoD) to reexamine religious accommodation requests tied to the COVID-19 vaccine and related career decisions. A Special Review Board would audit these requests, assess whether any service members’ careers were negatively affected, and determine corrective actions such as backdated promotions, adjustments to Date of Rank, restoration of pay and benefits, or reinstatement if someone left service due to a now-unlawful denial of a religious accommodation. The act also calls for expunging adverse actions from records and provides a formal review process for service members who believe their records or career progression were unfairly affected. It establishes ongoing congressional oversight, with initial findings, quarterly reports, and an inspector general audit, and it authorizes funding to carry out these activities. In short, the bill aims to identify and remedy past fairness gaps related to COVID-19 vaccine religious accommodations, potentially undoing detrimental career consequences and improving accountability and transparency around RFRA compliance in military personnel decisions.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of a Special Review Board within the DoD to audit religious accommodation requests specifically related to the COVID-19 vaccine and review affected service members’ records.
- 2Duties include: auditing submissions/approvals since 2020 for RFRA compliance, assessing career impact, and determining corrective actions (backdated promotions, Date of Rank corrections, back pay/retirement benefits, reinstatement if appropriate).
- 3Expungement of adverse actions from records related to vaccine refusal or religious accommodation (e.g., reprimands, negative evaluations, promotion delays/denials, IDT points adjustments, and related career assignments).
- 4Provides a mechanism for service members to request review if they believe their records or progression were adversely affected, regardless of accommodation outcome.
- 5Timeline: full review within one year of enactment; post-review compensation due within 60 days; initial and quarterly reporting to Congress; independent Inspector General audit within 18 months.
- 6Definitions and scope: Adverse action, religious accommodation, and service member definitions are laid out; includes active duty, Reserve/IRR, and National Guard personnel.
- 7Authorization of appropriations: flexible funding as needed to support the Special Review Board.