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Employment Discrimination Religious Discrimination

Littler

The New Era of Religious Accommodations: Clarifying the Standard for “Sincere Religious Beliefs” and Evaluating Undue Hardship

Littler on

Since vaccines became available in response to COVID-19, courts have dealt with an onslaught of litigation involving religious accommodation in the workplace. Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Christian teacher gets jury trial in name, pronoun case

Divine intervention? John Kluge, a high school orchestra teacher in the Indianapolis area, was let go in 2018 after he refused to address transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns. Mr. Kluge, a Christian...more

McAfee & Taft

Will expanded freedom of religious expression lead to increased tension in the workplace?

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On July 28, 2025, the Trump administration issued a memorandum to all heads and acting heads of federal government departments and agencies entitled “Protection Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace.” The memo...more

Kerr Russell

Religious Accommodations Under Scrutiny

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Six months into the new Trump administration, it is clear that the EEOC is concentrating its efforts on religious discrimination in the workplace. Since President Trump’s inauguration, 25% of the new lawsuits or enforcement...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Proselytizing Online, Fired in Real Life: Are Anti-LGBTQ+ Views Protected by Title VII?

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement, commenced litigation against Rock Snowpark on July 2, 2025, for allegedly retaliating...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Title VII Lawsuit in Utah Federal District Court Challenges Employee’s Firing After Making Online Posts

An in-house attorney recently sued his former employer in a Utah federal district court for discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging he was unlawfully fired after posting social...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

EEOC Scrutinizes Vaccine Mandates: Continued Rise of Religious Accommodation Claims

Husch Blackwell LLP on

The COVID-19 pandemic brought workplace vaccination policies to the forefront, raising complex questions about religious accommodations. Over four years after the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, these policies remain...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Dads have workplace rights, too -- with a twist.

Dad-of-seven will go to jury on religious discrimination. This sounds like the kind of thing that might happen to a woman, but this time it (allegedly) happened to a man. A devout Catholic man (we'll call him "Dad") was...more

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti,...

Losing My Religion? 8th Circuit Finds that Freedom of Religion is Not a Justification for Employee Conduct

The past few decades have seen a Supreme Court receptive to claims brought on the basis of freedom of religion. For example, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (June 2014), the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Attending to EEOC’s New Workplace Focus: Antisemitism on College Campuses

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea Lucas issued a statement on March 17, 2025, notifying universities and colleges that the EEOC intends to hold them accountable for antisemitism in on-campus...more

Meyers Nave

Ninth Circuit Rules on Caste as a Protected Class in CSU’s Anti-Discrimination Policy

Meyers Nave on

On March 12, 2025, the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Kumar v. Koester, dismissing a constitutional challenge to a university’s anti-discrimination policy that added “caste” as a protected class. Effective January 1,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to McDonnell Douglas Discrimination Claims Analysis

Since 1973, federal courts reviewing claims of employment discrimination have used a framework first established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s McDonnell Douglas decision. Under this framework, plaintiffs must show a prima facie...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

EEOC Prioritizes Campus Antisemitism: What Employers Need to Know

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In a March 5, 2025 press release, Andrea Lucas, the Acting Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), emphasized the agency’s plans to prioritize holding universities and colleges accountable to prevent...more

Littler

UK Court of Appeal Decision Addresses Tension Between Religious Beliefs and Reputational Damage

Littler on

The UK Court of Appeal (CA) has handed down its judgment in the case of Higgs v. Famor’s School, adding to the growing body of case law that examines the complex issue of balancing employees’ freedom to express potentially...more

Frantz Ward LLP

Updates at the EEOC Under the Trump Administration

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Shortly after taking office, President Trump made several changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). First, President Trump terminated the EEOC’s previous General Counsel, Karla Gilbride, and appointed...more

BCLP

Unlawful Deductions Backstop, Religious Belief Dismissals, Plus a News Round-up: UK HR Two Minute Monthly - February 2025

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Our employment law update for February sees new cases on the two-year backstop on compensation in unlawful deductions cases and a Court of Appeal decision on religious belief discrimination relating to social media posts. We...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Finding Religion on a Motion to Dismiss: Federal Court Concludes that Plaintiff’s Secular Concerns About COVID Vaccines Do Not...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In a dispute over workplace vaccination requirements, a federal district court in Oregon joined a growing trend in workplace vaccination litigation when it ruled that a plaintiff’s allegations of religious conflict with...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Moving Forward: District Court Denies Religious University’s Motion to Dismiss Transgender Ex-Employee’s Title VII Suit

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied Liberty University’s motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit brought by a former employee who alleges that Liberty violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more

Hogan Lovells

Employment in the news | February 2025

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Although there’s been no further progress on the Employment Rights Bill, the courts and tribunals had an active month. The Court of Appeal opined on freedom of expression in the workplace, and the EAT considered injury to...more

Mayer Brown

Court of Appeal Hands Down Judgment in Higgs v Farmor's School Case

Mayer Brown on

The Court of Appeal handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the case of Higgs v Farmor's School. The judgment has significant implications for employers, where their employees express potentially controversial beliefs...more

Hogan Lovells

UK Court of Appeal provides guidance on freedom of expression in the workplace

Hogan Lovells on

The decision makes it harder for employers to act against employees who express protected views to which others object. Disciplinary action in that situation could be discrimination because of an employee’s religion or...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Vax On: Fourth Circuit Reinstates Plaintiff’s Religious Bias Suit in COVID Vaccine Mandate Case

On January 7, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s Title VII religious bias suit—holding the case was sufficient to survive a motion to...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Faith, Fired, and Fourth Circuit: Court Resurrects Religious Discrimination Case Against Inova

Poyner Spruill LLP on

In a significant decision affecting employment discrimination law, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has unanimously reversed the dismissal of a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit brought by a...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

The Changes Begin: Trump Administration Takes Slew of Actions in the Labor and Employment Field

Ballard Spahr LLP on

As anticipated, immediately upon his inauguration, President Trump took swift action in the labor and employment arena. His initial appointments and Executive Orders left no doubt that his administration will make an abrupt...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Second Circuit Revives New York Reproductive Health Bias Law’s Notice Requirement for Employee Handbooks

On January 2, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated the New York Reproductive Health Bias Law’s requirement that New York State employers include a notice in their employee handbooks regarding the...more

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