The law firm that is representing United Airline plaintiffs is now representing employees at Oak Ridge National Laboratory who were put on unpaid leave after filing for religious exemption. The research laboratory is managed by the University of Tennessee-Battelle (UT-Battelle), a not-for-profit company established to operate the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored center comprised of 5,500 staff members. Attorneys from Schaerr Jaffee LLP, a firm based in the District of Columbia, filed a class-action lawsuit Oct. 12 challenging what it said were UT-Battelle’s “discriminatory actions stemming from the company’s refusal to grant any reasonable religious or medical accommodation for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.” In August, UT-Battelle initiated its vaccine mandate. Though the company allows for employees to submit requests for exemptions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, it later told about 140 employees they will be put on unpaid leave as of Oct. 15, …