Joel Lopez, a New Jersey juvenile justice correction officer, doesn't know how he will pay for his special-needs son's costly medication or upcoming brain surgery if he is suspended without pay or ultimately loses his job after his appeal for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine was rejected.
Lopez, who has been on the force for 19 years, is just one of a slew of state police officers who could lose their job, benefits, and pensions after being denied an exemption.
"Denying my religious exemption puts a huge burden on me," he said.
Lopez said his faith doesn't allow for him to receive the coronavirus vaccine and so, once New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy instituted a vaccine mandate for police officers working in prisons, he filed for a religious exemption.
Under the order, religious and medical exemptions had to be made available for employees seeking them.
Despite applying for the waiver, however, attorney Daryl Kipnis said dozens of officers, like Lopez, are receiving "blanket" denial letters, which is forcing them to decide what is more important: their job or their relationship with God?
Kipnis said those who were denied an exemption must show proof they were vaccinated by Saturday or they will be suspended.
"They went from heroes to zeroes these officers," he said.
Lopez said he is worried he could lose his health insurance, which helps pay for the expensive medication that his 6-year-old-son Liam relies on to keep his rare medical condition, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, under control.
He said his son was diagnosed at 5-months-old with the syndrome, which causes him to have anywhere between 200 and 300 seizures per day. Liam is scheduled to have brain surgery in April and Lopez said if he loses his health insurance he doesn't know how he will be able to afford the procedure.
If the department places him in a "no pay status" as a result of not getting the vaccine, he said there is "no way" he can afford the healthcare costs for his son.
"This will kill him if he doesn't get these medications," he said.
Arthur Miles, a senior juvenile justice correctional officer, fears, too, he could "lose everything" he has worked for as his retirement date approaches.
Miles is approaching 25 years of service and is set to retire in five weeks. And as a Christian, he said receiving the coronavirus vaccine is against his religious beliefs, so he requested an exemption.
"My body is my temple," he said. "At what point did we give our bodies over to the state of New Jersey to do what they want with it."
After receiving the letter that this request was denied, he fears he could lose his pension.
"I don't want to lose everything I worked for," he said. "It could be all for nothing."
Marisa Herman ✉
Marisa Herman, a Newsmax senior reporter, focuses on major and investigative stories. A University of Florida graduate, she has more than a decade of experience as a reporter for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
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