News & Analysis as of

Religious Accommodation Religious Discrimination Employment Litigation

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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Burn Grooming Policy, Burn? Third Circuit Reignites Bearded Firefighter’s Religious Accommodation and Free Exercise Claims

If you have a grooming policy based on safety factors (like no beards for firefighters), does that trump an employee’s request for a religious accommodation? Maybe not. A recent Third Circuit decision, Smith v. City of...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

Littler

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

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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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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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

Mayer Brown

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

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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

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

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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

Mandatory COVID Testing Did Not Violate Employee's Religious Beliefs

Lawsuits challenging employers' authority to require measures intended to prevent COVID-19 infections continue to wend their way through the federal judiciary. Last month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a claim...more

BakerHostetler

Inoculating Employers Against Religious Discrimination Claims - Sixth Circuit Gives University Victory over Employee’s Religious...

BakerHostetler on

It is cold and flu season, and COVID-19 remains an ongoing threat. Have you inoculated your workplace against claims of religious discrimination?...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seventh Circuit: Religious Discrimination Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss Even if Request For Religious Exemption to COVID-19...

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Seyfarth Synopsis: In two cases issued by the Seventh Circuit, Passarella and Dottenwhy v. Aspirus, Inc. and Bube and Hedrington v. Aspirus Hospital, Inc. the Court held that at the motion to dismiss stage, the fact that a...more

Fisher Phillips

Restaurant Settles EEOC Lawsuit Based on Denying Cook’s No-Sundays Request: 6 Steps for Handling Religious Accommodation Requests

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A North Carolina restaurant franchisee has agreed to pay $40,000 and take other corrective measures to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC after being accused of denying a cook’s...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: July 2024

Holland & Knight LLP on

Vaccine Exemption Policy Requiring Citation to Official Doctrine Violates First Amendment Madison Houghton and Nathan A. Adams IV In Does 1-11 v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Colorado, 100 F. 4th 1251 (10th Cir. 2024), former...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

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

UPDATE: When Does a Requested Religious Accommodation Pose an Undue Hardship?

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

In a recent opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reiterated the standards for balancing an employee’s religious accommodation request against the potential undue hardship that such a request may impose...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

When Does a Requested Religious Accommodation Pose an Undue Hardship?

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

In a recent opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reiterated the standards for balancing an employee’s religious accommodation request against the potential undue hardship that such a request may impose...more

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

Pennsylvania Federal Judge Tosses Challenge to Employer Jab or Swab Mandate

​​​​​​​On August 26, 2022, Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed a putative class action representing approximately 100 healthcare...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Was There a Rainbow Connection? Arkansas Court Allows Religious Discrimination Case to Go Forward over Apron Symbol

Accommodating an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs can be tricky. In EEOC v. Kroger, a court in Arkansas gives some guidance on how to handle these claims. The case law surrounding religious failure-to-accommodate...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Arbitrator Decides Employer Discriminated on Basis of Creed in Denying Request for Vaccine Policy Exemption

Littler on

In Public Health Sudbury & Districts v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, 2022 CanLii 48440 (ON LA), Arbitrator Robert J. Herman decided that the grievor was discriminated against on the basis of creed under the Ontario Human...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

Poyner Spruill LLP

EEOC $50,000 Settlement Highlights Importance of Proper Accommodation Review Procedures

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Frito-Lay, Inc., a Plano, Texas-based subsidiary of PepsiCo, recently agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)....more

Fisher Phillips

Reconsidering Religious Accommodations In Light Of The Pandemic

Fisher Phillips on

With all of the uncertainty facing the healthcare community in light of the current pandemic, the ability of hospitals and other healthcare facilities to be flexible when managing employees is of the utmost importance. To...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New York Federal Court Approves Employees’ $1.8 Million Slice In EEOC “Onionhead” Religion Discrimination Lawsuit

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In an EEOC-initiated religious discrimination suit involving an employer’s alleged imposition of “Onionhead” religious practices, a federal district court in New York recently denied the employer’s motion...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Cottle Strawberry to Pay $12,500 to Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

Company Fired Seventh-Day Adventist Because She Refused to Work on Her Sabbath, Federal Agency Charged - RALEIGH, N.C. - Cottle Strawberry Nursery, Inc., a corporation based in Faison, N.C., that has grown, packed,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Sunday May Still Be Sacred: Texas Jury Sides with Employee Who Chose Church Service Over Work

If an employee misses work to attend church on Sunday morning and the company subsequently fires her, is that religious discrimination? A jury in Texas recently said yes and awarded the plaintiff close to $350,000. The...more

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