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Religious Discrimination Title VII

Brooks Pierce

The EEOC Signals Continued Increased Scrutiny of Religious Accommodation in the Workplace

Brooks Pierce on

Particularly since pandemic-era vaccination requirements, American employers have faced increasing enforcement actions and litigation regarding religious accommodation requests. Additionally, in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

DOJ guidance on unlawful discrimination: Implications for DEI practices in the private sector

On July 29, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, issued a new guidance memorandum that clarifies what the DOJ considers to be “unlawful discriminatory policies and practices” under...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Three religious accommodation trends: The good, the bad and the “buckle up for turbulence”

Two years ago, the long dormant duty to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and practices was awakened by the U.S. Supreme Court in Groff v. Dejoy. Gone were the days when an employer could justify the denial of a...more

A&O Shearman

Comparing U.S. And UK Approaches to Religious Expression at Work: Lessons From Recent Developments

A&O Shearman on

Regulators and courts in both the U.S. and UK have been seeking to navigate the complex balance between employees’ rights to religious expression and employers’ interests. In particular, recent developments—namely, two U.S....more

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.

EEOC Decisions Enforce Stronger Protections for Religious Accommodation in the Workplace

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently issued significant decisions against two federal employers for failing to provide reasonable religious accommodations to their employees. These decisions...more

Offit Kurman

Evolving Standards for Religious Accommodations at Work

Offit Kurman on

The legal framework surrounding religious accommodations in the workplace has evolved significantly, driven by recent court decisions, EEOC enforcement actions, and federal guidance. Employers must gain a clear understanding...more

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

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

New Federal Religious Expression and Accommodations Guidance May Impact Private Employers

In July 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued two important memos regarding religious accommodations and religious expression in federal workplaces. ...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

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

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

Amundsen Davis LLC

Balancing Beliefs and Business: What Employers Need to Know About Religious Accommodations in the Workplace

Amundsen Davis LLC on

As modern workplaces grow increasingly diverse, employers must be prepared to accommodate employees’ religious practices and observations in a respectful, inclusive, and lawful manner. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 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

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

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