Supreme Court Miniseries: Religious Accommodation at Work
Employment Law Now VII-133 - Hot Summer Employment Law Developments
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Introduces Heightened Standard for Religious Accommodation, Rules Against Affirmative Action, Protects “Expressive” Services - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now VII-130- An Interview With EEOC Commissioner (Vice Chair) Jocelyn Samuels
Employment Law Now VI-116-Top 10 Employment Issues To Consider For The Summer Kick-Off
Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS Coming Soon, OSHA Cracks Down on States, and EEOC Updates Guidance - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now V-104 - Religious Accommodations to Vaccine Policies: An EEOC Update and Best Practices
#WorkforceWednesday: The Biden EEOC, New Religious Guidance, and Diversity Training Ban Repealed - Employment Law This Week
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC Rules and Vaccine Incentives, Prioritizing Worker Health and Safety, Notable Executive Orders - Employment Law This Week®
Can Employers Require COVID-19 Vaccinations?
Vaccines in the time of COVID [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 15]
Deck the Halls (with a lawsuit-free holiday season!)
Employment Law This Week®: DOL’s Association Health Plan Proposal, NJLAD Includes Nursing Mothers, New Unpaid Intern Test, HHS’s Conscience-Based Protections
I-20 - Special Holiday Party Episode
K&L Gates Triage: Avoiding the Risks Associated with Mandatory Vaccination Programs
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
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
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
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
Five Ward and Smith attorneys provided updates related to employment law, including non-compete agreements, unionization efforts, pregnancy laws, and overtime rules for exempt employees, during the firm’s recent In-House...more
Hospital Unlawfully Refused Applicant’s Request for Religious Exemption from Flu Shot Requirement and Rescinded Offer of Employment - GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Trinity Health Grand Rapids, formerly known as Mercy Health St....more
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
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
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
Healthcare Provider Refused to Accommodate Telecommuter with Religious Exemption from COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement, Federal Agency Charges - CLEVELAND – United Healthcare Services, Inc. (United) violated federal law when...more
Florida Furniture Store Fired an Assistant Manager for Refusing to Violate Her Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs, Federal Agency Charges - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Arkansas-based Hank’s Furniture, Inc., a retail seller of home...more
Hospital and Health Center Operator Found to Have Denied Employees Religious Exemption From Vaccine Mandate, Federal Agency Said - PHILADELPHIA -- Inspira Medical Centers, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, also known as...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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