A nurse claimed she was fired for her religious beliefs. The hospital said it fired her because of its religious beliefs. So who gets Title VII’s protection? TL;DR: Title VII includes a narrow exemption that allows religious organizations to make employment decisions based on religion when those decisions are…
The EEOC has sued a Wisconsin employer for allegedly firing a worker over Bible verses he posted on his personal social media. The case puts a spotlight on a tricky question for employers: When does off-duty religious expression become a workplace problem? TL;DR: According to the EEOC, a business violated…
You’ve trained your managers to avoid bias. But what happens when an employee tries to win a lawsuit by flipping that logic—stereotyping the employer instead? One California court just had a firm answer: Nope. TL;DR: A university employee sued for discrimination after not receiving a permanent promotion. The court…
Employers, take note: vague safety concerns and “we did our best” no longer cut it. A recent Third Circuit opinion revived a religious accommodation claim from a firefighter who wanted to keep his beard for faith-based reasons. Applying the Supreme Court’s Groff v. DeJoy standard, the court made it clear:…
A recent Fifth Circuit decision offers a pointed reminder to employers, litigators, and trial courts alike: enforcement authority has limits—even after a verdict. At the center of the controversy? A court-ordered “religious liberty training” imposed on a corporate defendant’s attorneys by a judge dissatisfied with how the company communicated a…
I’ve got another confession to make. One of my not-so-guilty pleasures is when employees seeking “religious” accommodations at work get undone by their own hypocrisy. For example, last night, I read a federal court decision about a Senior Manager in the R&D department of a major food company who refused…
Religious discrimination laws protect more than just those who attend church, temple, or mosque. Did you know that they also protect those who don’t subscribe to any religious belief at all? A recent lawsuit in Colorado alleges that atheists, too, can face workplace discrimination—and that’s just as unlawful as treating…
“We are terminating you for ‘denying biological and chromosomal sex assigned at birth.’” That’s what a transgender woman alleges HR told her when she was fired from her job at a religious university. In response, she sued for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.…
In a recent decision, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a religious discrimination claim. The case involved an employee terminated for refusing a COVID-19 vaccination due to her religious beliefs. Yes, I get it—COVID-19 cases may feel like old news. But stick with me…
Suppose an employee, an adherent of a religion you’ve never heard of, requests time off from work on certain religious observance days. The EEOC has some advice for employers: Because the definition of religion is broad and protects beliefs, observances, and practices with which the employer may be unfamiliar, the…