News & Analysis as of

Workplace Safety Religious Accommodation Title VII

Cozen O'Connor

Facial Hair, Firefighters, and Free Exercise

Cozen O'Connor on

A single exception can now unravel your entire workplace safety policy. The Third Circuit's decision on May 30, 2025, in Smith v. Atlantic City, underscores how even minor exceptions to grooming or masking rules can expose...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

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

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

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

Federal Courts in Wisconsin and Kentucky Issue Decisions in Favor of Employers Facing COVID-19–Related Legal Issues

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

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Accommodations Under Title VII

Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court in Biden v. Missouri, 595 U. S. ____ (2022) provided clarity for hospitals and healthcare facilities when it preliminarily upheld a vaccine mandate for health care workers...more

Miller Nash LLP

Accommodating Religious Beliefs in a ‘Post-pandemic’ Workplace

Miller Nash LLP on

It should be no surprise that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a tremendous impact on today’s employees’ thoughts on life, work, and workplace rules. A recent Harvard Business Review article describes...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Defending Against Title VII Religious Objections to COVID Vax

Proskauer Rose LLP on

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Religious Accommodation Challenges to COVID-19 Vaccination Policies — Lessons for Employers from Preliminary Court Decisions

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Whether to protect the health and safety of their workplaces, to comply with governmental requirements when applicable, or a combination of the two, many employers have adopted mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies. Faced...more

Littler

Fifth Circuit Reverses Denial of Preliminary Injunction in Vaccine Mandate Case

Littler on

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

OSHA Withdraws Vaccine-Or-Test Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has withdrawn its enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring most employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or tests for employees...more

Dentons

EEOC Update - What you should know about COVID-19 vaccinations

Dentons on

On October 13, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued several updates to its Q&A relating to COVID-19 and vaccinations - What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

EEOC Issues New Guidance on Religious Objections to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

As many employers await the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s impending vaccination rule, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission quietly released new guidance regarding religious objections to mandatory...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Handling COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: Federal Agencies Continue to Issue Guidance

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC on

In response to COVID-19 vaccination mandates and employer-mandated vaccination policies, federal agencies continue to issue guidance. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Health and Human...more

Miller Canfield

EEOC Updates Guidance Regarding Religious Accommodations to Workplace Vaccination Requirements

Miller Canfield on

On October 25, 2021, the EEOC updated its Technical Guidance What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO Laws to provide more direction to employers regarding religious objections to...more

Morgan Lewis

EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Religious and Pregnancy Vaccine Accommodations

Morgan Lewis on

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

Snell & Wilmer

EEOC Issues Guidance on Religious Objections to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Snell & Wilmer on

Yesterday, the EEOC issued updated guidance (“Guidance”) regarding employers’ obligations in responding to employees’ religious objections to receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. A full copy of the new Guidance can be found at...more

ArentFox Schiff

Handling Religious Accommodation Requests in the Wake of Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates

ArentFox Schiff on

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

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Thinking About a Mandatory Vaccine Policy? Here’s What You Need to Consider

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on

As an employer, you might be thinking about implementing a mandatory vaccine policy for your workforce. There are many issues to consider when developing a mandatory vaccine policy, and it is hard to keep up with...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

White House Issues Mandatory Vaccination Guidance for Federal Contractors

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has issued a guidance document intended to help implement President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccinations and other measures for all federal workers and U.S....more

Smith Anderson

The Biden Administration Puts the Burden on Employers

Smith Anderson on

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Mandated Vaccines: Denying Requests for Religious Accommodation in the Name of Safety

Foley & Lardner LLP on

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

Fisher Phillips

An Employer’s 3-Step Guide to Responding to COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Objections

Fisher Phillips on

As the Delta variant surges throughout the country, more and more employers are implementing mandatory vaccine policies, especially now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval. Most employers know they may need...more

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

COVID-19 Variants and Key Government Actions Accelerate Employer Vaccination Policy Implementation

With transmission of the Delta variant on the rise, many employers are revisiting plans to implement COVID-19 vaccination policies. As we have previously explained, employers may encourage and mandate vaccination against...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Can Employers Require Vaccinations For COVID-19? - UPDATED August 2021

Fox Rothschild LLP on

The short answer to the big question of whether an employer can require employees to get vaccinated is: Yes. But that is only the beginning of the analysis. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued...more

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