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Religious Discrimination Free Exercise Clause First Amendment

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Religious Charter Schools Continue to be Impermissible…for Now

The State of Oklahoma has a charter school law similar in many respects to New York’s Charter Schools Act. Like in New York, Oklahoma charter schools are authorized by a state board via charter agreements between the state...more

Baker Donelson

The Supreme Court Declines to Require Religious Charter Schools

Baker Donelson on

In a one-sentence, 4-to-4 per curiam decision, the Supreme Court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling that approval of a religious school's participation in the state's charter school program would violate the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Supreme Court Update - May 23, 2025

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

On Thursday, May 22, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions: Kousisis v. United States, No. 23-909: This case addresses the elements of the federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343....more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Eleventh Circuit Finds City of Mobile Violated Religious Freedom Laws

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently considered a long-running religious land use dispute involving the Thai Meditation Association of Alabama (TMAA) and the city of Mobile, Alabama. The...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Fourth Circuit: Church Seeking to Operate as Brewery or Farm Winery Did Not State RLUIPA Claim

The Fourth Circuit has ruled against the Alive Church of the Nazarene’s claims that Prince William County, Virginia, violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLIUPA) by denying the Church the...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Court Rules Meriden, CT’s Zoning Regulations Discriminatory

A district court has ruled that the City of Meriden, Connecticut (the City) discriminated against Omar Islamic Center Inc. following the City’s denial of the Islamic Center’s application to move its mosque to another...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

U.S. Supreme Court: School District Can’t Discipline Coach for Post-Game Public Religious Observances

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

A school district infringed on an assistant football coach’s rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment when it suspended him for continuing to publicly pray after football games in violation of its policy,...more

Stoel Rives LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Religious Freedom in Government Benefits and Employment Decisions

Stoel Rives LLP on

In three cases this term, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the freedom of religious institutions to access government benefits and to make employment decisions....more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Federal Court: “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First...

Last week, a federal court in North Carolina issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the assembly of religious worship provisions in Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 138 (EO-138).  The court found that EO-138 was...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

5th Circuit Says No, Employer Not Liable for Religious Discrimination, Retaliation, or First Amendment Violations in Employee...

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Vaccinations have been widely debated over the past few years, leaving employers unclear about their obligations to accommodate employees whose religious beliefs conflict with them. Recently the U.S. Court...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Church Ministering to Homeless/Needy Can Proceed with Most of its Religious Discrimination Claims

A United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee recently ruled that Layman Lessons Church and Welcome Baptist Church, Inc. (“Layman Lessons”) can move forward with most, but not all, of its religious...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: January 2019 - Lex Est Sanctio Sancta

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Courts continue to grapple with the scope and meaning of the ministerial exception doctrine. In Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that a...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Islamic Community Center Denied Variance Needed to Operate Mosque; Files Lawsuit Against Michigan City

Earlier this month, an Islamic community center filed suit against the City of Troy, Michigan (“City”) after the City denied the group’s application for a variance needed to operate a mosque at the property it owns in the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

OFCCP Winds Down Summer By Issuing New Guidance on Religious Discrimination and Announcing New Focused Review Process

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is closing the summer by issuing two new enforcement directives....more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Church Ministering To Homeless Secures Preliminary Injunction Against St. Paul, Minn. For Likely RLUIPA And Free Speech Violations

A federal court in Minnesota has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of a local church ministering to the homeless, ruling that the church was likely to prevail on its RLUIPA substantial burden and First Amendment free...more

Fisher Phillips

Web Exclusive - June 2018: The Top 18 Labor And Employment Law Stories

Fisher Phillips on

It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

Littler

Supreme Court Year in Review: Union Agency Fees, Travel Restrictions, and the Retirement of Justice Kennedy

Littler on

The U.S. Supreme Court closed out its most recent term, which began in October 2017, with a number of high-profile and ground-breaking decisions. ...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

North Carolina City’s Zoning Code Amendment “At The Cross”-Road of RLUIPA Claim

Recent amendments to the zoning code of the City of Monroe, North Carolina (the “City”) are unconstitutional, according to the Complaint filed by At the Cross Fellowship Baptist Church (the “Church”), a congregation of...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: June 2018 - Lex Est Sanctio Sancta

Holland & Knight LLP on

Since 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressly construed a neutral law of general applicability as consistent with the free exercise clause. Deeming Colorado's public accommodations law just such a law, the Colorado Court...more

FordHarrison

U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Wedding Cake Baker in Gay Rights Case Based on Civil Rights Commission's Impermissible "Hostility"

FordHarrison on

On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, found in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakes, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He cited religious beliefs condemning...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Supreme Court’s Decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop Provides Little Guidance on Intersection of Religious and LGBT Rights

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In a largely symbolic ruling, in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a cake shop owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his...more

Franczek P.C.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Create Wedding Cake for a Same-Sex Marriage, but Does Not Open the Door for...

Franczek P.C. on

In a limited opinion issued, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. However, the Court’s decision in the case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colo....more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Cake, Art and Religious Freedom?

In a prior MuniBlog posting we covered a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court involving a Colorado baker and concerns about non-discrimination laws and religious objections. In Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Supreme Court Update: Merchant Rights and the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment precludes states from prohibiting the marriage of same-sex couples. In the past three...more

Sands Anderson PC

Discriminating on the Basis of Religious Belief: Limited Lessons for Governments and Businesses from Masterpiece Cakeshop

Sands Anderson PC on

The US Supreme Court decided yesterday what Court watchers thought might be a landmark case deciding whether the rights to free exercise of religion and free speech trumped the rights of gays and lesbians to have access to...more

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