Federal laboratory allegedly provided color-coded badges indicating COVID vaccine, testing status: sources

Employees at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York were instructed to wear a special, blue-colored badge if they received the coronavirus vaccine, according to documents and multiple former employees.

At least one unvaccinated former employee, John Rothermel, alleged that he had to wear a special orange badge, indicating that he had been tested for the coronavirus. Another former, and unvaccinated, employee told Fox News Digital that they received an orange badge. And yet another said they weren't forced to wear an orange badge but said different colored badges were distributed. 

It's unclear how the badges were distributed among the entirety of the staff and BNL has been relatively unresponsive to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. 

Rothermel, an engineer, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in November 2021, but as of Monday, said he was unable to get an appointment to discuss the issue.

In the EEOC complaint, he alleged the lab discriminated against him by asking him about his medication use and requiring him to wear an orange badge after requesting and receiving a religious vaccination exemption.

"Questions were exclusively personal medical inquiries, including asking if I have ever used any medications, such as Tylenol, Maalox and Preparation H," Rothermel's complaint read. "I consider this discriminatory action as I was required to divulge personal medical information, including the use of hemorrhoid cream to my employer."

Rothermel stated that on Nov. 4, he was informed by BNL that his religious exemption request had been approved. However, he was told after he received the exemption that he would have to wear an orange badge indicating his unvaccinated status.

"On 11/17, I submitted for a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test and was told I would be required to wear an orange badge indicating my unvaccinated status. Singling out individuals who have approved religious exemptions and requiring them to wear a visible display is discriminatory," alleged Rothermel in the EEOC complaint.

An email provided to Fox News Digital purportedly shows Rothermel asking BNL's Robert Lincoln, who oversees Human Resources, if the badge was required despite his granted exemption, to which Lincoln says it was. Lincoln did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Lincoln said in an email in response to Rothermel: "Yes, this is badge you must ware [sic] that has the date that you need to obtain your next test. Each time you go in for the test they will provide you’re a new badge with a renewed 7 day period." Lincoln did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment and the EEOC declined to comment.

Rothermel said he was provided orange badges on Nov. 10 and Nov. 17. The badges, he said, were dated according to the time period through which they were valid.

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"I never was the most political person in the world, but this has just driven me to be an activist," Rothermel, who left BNL in November, previously told LifeSiteNews. 

"I have never in my life thought I would be calling the media, or standing in a picket line, or doing any of these things, or quit my job over a political issue, but here I am. I had a job lined up, they approved my exemption, and I walked into my boss’s office and handed over my resignation letter saying, ‘Too bad. Goodbye.’"

The laboratory did not respond to Fox News Digital's many requests for comment. In a statement last month, BNL did say it was "not requiring unvaccinated staff with exemptions to wear a color-coded badge." That appeared to directly conflict with the email that Rothermel provided.

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In addition, Fox News Digital obtained a Nov. 16 memo in which BNL told employees that vaccinated individuals should wear blue badges. 

"As a reminder, all vaccinated and validated staff, visitors, users, and guests must wear their blue validation badge and lanyard at all times when on site," read the email from the lab director and others. "This will become increasingly important as community transmission levels decrease and we are able to relax face covering and social distancing requirements for vaccinated individuals."

The email does not mention orange badges, but multiple employees told Fox News Digital that those were distributed. It's unclear who exactly received the orange badges, but Rothermel said he received an orange badge after obtaining an exemption.

Regarding the list of medications requested by BNL, Rothermel said he no longer had the email since he left the laboratory in November, but Fox News Digital obtained a similar email sent to another employee who requested an exemption. 

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It listed 30 medications, including HIV-1, Preparation H, and Ex-Lax. After noting the involvement of fetal tissue, the emails asked: "In light of this information, can you clarify whether you ever used any of these products? If so, why does using these common every-day medicinal products not violate your religious belief that prevents you from getting a COVID-19 vaccine?"

In a response letter from October, Rothermel said: "This question is irrelevant to the religious accommodation request I have submitted … the mandate prohibits me from making an evaluation of the benefit vs. objectionable origins of the vaccine. None of the medications mentioned are being mandated. I am able therefore to pray to my God and come to a decision that is consistent with my religious beliefs."

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Rothermel's criticisms echoed those of others during the pandemic. Fox News Digital previously reported on the Coast Guard requesting chaplains ask how frequently service members seeking an exemption attend religious services and how consistently they "keep the tenets of their faith." 

If members cited the use of fetal stem cells, the draft guidance suggested asking whether "they have ever taken Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen,[ ]Benadryl, or Claritin, all of which were developed using fetal cells."