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Religious Discrimination Title VII Religious Accommodation

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

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

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

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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

What a Potential EEOC Shift in Emphasis on Religious Discrimination Claims Could Mean for Employers

With the transition to the new administration in Washington taking place later this month, how could this change affect the enforcement priorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? These priorities shift every...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

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Center One and Capital Management Services to Pay $60,000 in EEOC Religious Accommodation Suit

Settles Federal Lawsuit Charging Debt Collector Denied Employee Unpaid Time Off to Observe Religious Holidays, Forcing Him to Quit - Pittsburgh – Center One, LLC, a provider of consumer debt collection services, and...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sues Logic Staffing for Religious Discrimination and Retaliation

Federal Agency Charges Staffing Agency With Unlawful Refusal to Hire Muslim Applicant Who Asked For Ability to Attend Friday Prayer - SEATTLE – Logic Staffing, a Washington-based staffing and recruiting agency, violated...more

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

Prayers for Religious Holiday Time Off May Need to be Accommodated by Employers

Knowing several religious holidays are coming up soon, employers can take steps to avoid triggering religious discrimination and reasonable accommodation lawsuits. Consistently applying paid time off rules can help to prevent...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

EEOC Settlement Underscores Heightened Undue Hardship Religious Accommodation Standard

Poyner Spruill LLP on

Suncakes NC, LLC, a North Carolina-based company, and Suncakes, LLC, a Texas-based company doing business as IHOP (collectively “Suncakes”), will pay $40,000 and provide other relief to settle a religious discrimination and...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

What To Do When Your Healthcare Employee Objects To Providing Treatment Based on Religious Grounds

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: With the myriad claims for religious accommodation that came out of mandatory COVID vaccination policies, employers have become familiar how to handle requests for religious accommodation in the workplace. ...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

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