News & Analysis as of

Employment Discrimination Religious Discrimination Title VII

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?

McAfee & Taft on

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

Kerr Russell on

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

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

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

Frantz Ward LLP

Updates at the EEOC Under the Trump Administration

Frantz Ward LLP on

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

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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

What a Potential EEOC Shift in Emphasis on Religious Discrimination Claims Could Mean for Employers

With the transition to the new administration in Washington taking place later this month, how could this change affect the enforcement priorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? These priorities shift every...more

Benesch

EEOC Issues New Workplace Harassment Guidance

Benesch on

For the first time in a quarter-century, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued enforcement guidance on workplace harassment. The April 29-guidance consolidates and supersedes several iterations of...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Groff v. DeJoy and Its Impact on Religious Accommodation

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against employees and applicants on the basis of religion (as well as race, color, sex, and national origin), and it...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

EEOC Proposes Workplace Harassment Guidance: What Employers Should Know

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed new guidance for employers regarding updates to the law and modern examples of workplace harassment. The public is allowed to comment on the proposed guidance...more

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

Seventh Circuit Revives Teacher’s Religious Discrimination Case Over Transgender Students’ Names and Pronouns

On July 31, 2023, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived a Christian teacher’s religious discrimination lawsuit over his refusal to refer to transgender students by their names and pronouns with which they identified. ...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Will your prayers be answered on religious accommodations? Probably not.

In the past 30 days the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that denial of a religious accommodation requires proof of a real “undue hardship,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to the EEOC asking how it intended to...more

Cozen O'Connor

Employment Law Now VI-116-Top 10 Employment Issues To Consider For The Summer Kick-Off

Cozen O'Connor on

As we approach the unofficial start to Summer 2022, today's new episode addresses the 10 issues that should be on the radar of all employers....more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

ABCs of employment law: Discrimination

A new series. NOTE FROM ROBIN: For months, I've been thinking about doing a series of posts with very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. I think the series would be helpful to people who are...more

Gould + Ratner LLP

EEOC Issues Updated COVID-19 Guidance for Religious Exemption Requests

Gould + Ratner LLP on

On Monday, October 25, the EEOC issued the much-anticipated update to its COVID-19 guidance (What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws). The update again addresses how...more

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