Executive Summary: The recent Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 142 S. Ct. 2407 (June 27, 2022), is the latest to promote free exercise of speech and religion over all other competing interests. In its June 27, 2022 opinion, the Court’s conservative majority held that the Free Exercise and Free Speech clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in personal religious observances from government reprisal, even when he does so on school property at a school-sponsored event. Kennedy held that a coach may pray at the 50-yard line after a high school football game. The decision strays from and overturns prior Supreme Court precedent established in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), adhering to the separation of church and state, one of the United States’ founding principles.
Articles Discussing General Topics Regarding Religious Discrimination Claims Under Title VII Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964.
Servicemembers Sue Marine Corps For Religious Discrimination
U.S. Supreme Court: School District Can’t Discipline Coach for Post-Game Public Religious Observances
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, the U.S. Supreme Court has held. Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., No. 21-418, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 3218 (June 27, 2022).
U.S. Supreme Court: School District Cannot Fire Coach for Personal Religious Observance After Games
The U.S. Supreme Court has held in favor of a former high school football coach in western Washington who lost his job after kneeling to pray on the 50-yard line after games. Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist., No. 21–418 (June 27, 2022).
In reversing the Ninth Circuit, the Court held
9th Circuit Provides Important Reminders for Religious Employers
Recently, the 9th Circuit applied, in an unpublished opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court’s broad definition of minister for purposes of the “ministerial exception.” Under the ministerial exception, religious institutions have a First Amendment right “to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those
Seventh Circuit Issues Decision Finding Broad Scope of Ministerial Exception; Questions Remain
On July 9, 2021, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, issued a 7-3 decision in the closely watched case Sandor Demkovich v. St Andrew the Apostle Parish, Calumet City and the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Seventh Circuit found that the ministerial exception acted as a per se bar to the plaintiff’s hostile work environment claims.
Supreme Court: Philadelphia Ordinance Unconstitutionally Burdened Religious Exercise
The U.S. Supreme Court has found that Philadelphia’s ordinance requiring a private foster care agency to certify same-sex couples as foster parents burdened the agency’s religious exercise in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Balancing Public Employees’ Religious Rights with the Establishment Clause
When it comes to striking a balance between the religious rights of government employees and the government’s duty to avoid Establishment Clause violations, “context matters.”
In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 991 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2021), the Ninth Circuit held that the public prayer by Joseph Kennedy, a football
Defining “Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs” That Might Excuse Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination?
Whether or not a religious belief is sincerely held by an applicant or employee is rarely at issue in most religious discrimination lawsuits. With both the EEOC and DFEH guidance requiring employers to accommodate an employee who has a sincerely held religious belief that prevents an employee from receiving any of the COVID-19 vaccinations, the issue of what is a “sincerely held religious belief” has become more important in employment law. This is particularly true for those employers that decide to mandate the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment or condition of receiving certain employment benefits.
OWN’s Greenleaf Presents Ministerial Exception Issue
Note: Includes spoilers for OWN’s Greenleaf.
Based on praise from various friends and colleagues, the lovely Mrs. Reed and I recently began watching Greenleaf, a series on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) that ran from 2016 to 2020. Wikipedia describes the show as follows:
Source: BD Images / shutterstock
Fifth Circuit Loss for Employee Who Refused Vaccine for Religious Reasons
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more readily available, employers are considering mandatory vaccination for their employees and in particular, how to respond to employee requests for accommodation, whether on the basis of disability or religion. In Horvath v. City of Leander, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
EEOC Updates its Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination
On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an updated Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination. The EEOC voted 3-2 to approve the update.
EEOC Revises Guidance on Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has approved revisions to its Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination (Guidance). The revised Guidance, approved on January 15, 2021, draws upon several U.S. Supreme Court opinions issued since the agency’s last significant update to its guidelines in 2008.
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EEOC’s Proposed Revision of its Guidance Manual on Religious Discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that it is seeking public input on its updated Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination.
EEOC Updates Religious Discrimination Guidance
Over the past 10 years, there have been several significant changes related to how federal courts handle alleged religious discrimination. Catching up to those changes, this week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued draft guidance covering important issues such as the balance of religious expression and LGBT anti-bias protections.
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