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Religious Accommodation Civil Rights Act Coronavirus/COVID-19

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

Carlton Fields

Seventh Circuit Affirms Order Compelling Arbitration, Holds Arbitration Agreement Applies to Title VII Claim

Carlton Fields on

In Retzios v. Epic Systems Corp., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered an appeal brought by the plaintiff, a former employee of Epic, who was fired after she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The...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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Cautions Employers on Deciding Legitimacy of Workers' Religious Beliefs

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers established internal procedures to evaluate employees' requests for religious and medical-based exemptions from vaccination mandates. ...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Second Circuit Rejects Religious Discrimination Claim Based on COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

In last term’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly increased employers’ obligation to consider religious exemption requests under Title VII. Rather than the previous de minimus burden standard,...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Religious Accommodations, Part Deux: Is the religious belief sincere?

In Part One of this two-part bulletin, we explored the expansive meaning of religious beliefs entitled to an accommodation under Title VII and the reluctance of courts to second guess whether a belief is “religious” in...more

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

Federal Courts in Wisconsin and Kentucky Issue Decisions in Favor of Employers Facing COVID-19–Related Legal Issues

In September 2023, federal trial courts in Wisconsin and Kentucky issued decisions dismissing plaintiffs’ claims related to employers’ COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements....more

Paul Hastings LLP

Supreme Court Clarifies "Undue Hardship" In Religious Accommodation

Paul Hastings LLP on

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court decided Groff v. DeJoy in a unanimous ruling that clarifies the “undue hardship” standard under which an employer can deny a requested religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Defending Against Title VII Religious Objections to COVID Vax

Proskauer Rose LLP on

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on religion and requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations for employees' sincerely held religious beliefs, practices and observances....more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

ABCs of employment law: Religious accommodation

Second post in our series. NOTE FROM ROBIN: Last month, I posted the first in what will be a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. I could not resist having religious...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Indiana Enacts New Law on Employer COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has signed into law House Bill 1001, curbing COVID-19 vaccine mandates by employers. Under the law, which went into effect immediately, most Indiana employers who require employees to...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Thousands of COVID-Related EEOC Charges Filed; More to Come?

Employers should be prepared: while COVID may feel like it’s on the wane, COVID-related charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are on the rise. According to data published by Bloomberg from...more

Bowditch & Dewey

EEOC Issues Updated Guidance Regarding Religious Objections to COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements

Bowditch & Dewey on

The EEOC recently issued updated guidance regarding religious objections to COVID-19 vaccination requirements. This updated guidance, in the form of FAQs, addresses the circumstances under which employers may need to provide...more

Littler

Fifth Circuit Reverses Denial of Preliminary Injunction in Vaccine Mandate Case

Littler on

While the issue of whether private employers can legally enforce vaccine mandates among their workforce continues to be challenged across the country, a split panel in the Fifth Circuit is the first appellate court to signal...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

EEOC Updated Its COVID-19 Guidance on Religious Accommodations, Here’s What You Need to Know

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Since March 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) COVID-19 technical assistance, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” has been a valuable...more

Fisher Phillips

7 Employer Takeaways from EEOC’s Latest Vaccine Guidance on Religious Accommodations

Fisher Phillips on

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just updated its online COVID-19 technical guidance to further explain its position regarding religious objections to employer COVID-19 vaccination requirements,...more

Morgan Lewis

EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Religious and Pregnancy Vaccine Accommodations

Morgan Lewis on

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently updated its COVID-19 guidance, detailing its view of employer obligations under Title VII when evaluating religious objections to COVID-19 vaccination mandates....more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Denver Employees, Contractors

Federal, state, and local governments are now taking a stronger approach by requiring certain employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or otherwise regularly test negative for the virus. This article discusses the...more

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

COVID-19 Vaccination Religious Exemption Requests: 5 Key Takeaways From the EEOC’s Updated Technical Assistance

On October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated and expanded COVID-19 technical assistance, “What You Should Know...more

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

Finding Religious Accommodations in Rhode Island’s COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Healthcare Workers

Healthcare and healthcare-related employers have not just been at the heart of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also recently been on the battleground in the fight over mandatory vaccination. Multiple states...more

ArentFox Schiff

Handling Religious Accommodation Requests in the Wake of Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates

ArentFox Schiff on

As COVID-19 vaccination mandates continue to increase across the country, employers are legally required to manage, and in some cases accommodate exemption requests. What to Know As - COVID-19 vaccination mandates...more

Smith Anderson

The Biden Administration Puts the Burden on Employers

Smith Anderson on

On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced several updates to his plan for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Although media reports have led some to believe that President Biden’s actions have imposed an immediately...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Mandated Vaccines: Denying Requests for Religious Accommodation in the Name of Safety

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Mandatory Vaccination Policies are on the Rise - On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. In the days that followed (and encouraged by President...more

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

COVID-19 Variants and Key Government Actions Accelerate Employer Vaccination Policy Implementation

With transmission of the Delta variant on the rise, many employers are revisiting plans to implement COVID-19 vaccination policies. As we have previously explained, employers may encourage and mandate vaccination against...more

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