Articles Discussing General Topics Regarding Religious Discrimination Claims Under Title VII Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964.

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:

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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

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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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that it is seeking public input on its updated Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination.

Last week, the US Supreme Court issued two rulings that affect a limited class of employers facing claims of discrimination.

The First Amendment Religion Clauses exempt religious employers from suit by school teachers for alleged employment discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court has held.

By: SCOTUS Strengthens Religious Exemptions From Workplace Discrimination Law and ACA Birth Control Mandate

The United States Supreme Court issued two decisions this week in cases involving religion and the workplace.  In one case, the Court held that religious organizations may not be sued for discrimination by their teachers.  In the

The U.S. Supreme Court has expanded the application of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses to employment decisions made by religious institutions

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review two consolidated cases that will afford it an opportunity to develop the “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws it first announced in a 2012 case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 565 U.S. 171. (See our article, ‘Ministerial Exception’ Bars Ministers’ Discrimination Claims, U.S. Supreme Court Rules.)

Two federal courts have struck down the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) “Conscience Protection Rule,” which was slated to go into effect on November 22, 2019.

The EEOC announced that it reached a $74,418 settlement with a hospital in Owosso, Michigan, to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit the agency had filed under Title VII against the hospital in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. See https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEEOC/bulletins/24d7ec9; and https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-14-18.cfm.

Executive Summary: With Spring around the corner, many employers will begin to receive varying requests for religious accommodations related to the upcoming religious holidays. These requests often conflict with the employer’s work hours/days or employment duties. Employers who outright refuse an employee’s request for accommodation to celebrate these religious holidays may put the company at risk of a claim for religious discrimination. Federal and state laws do not require that an employee be given paid time off for a religious holiday. However, federal law does require an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation for the religious beliefs of an employee, if the accommodation does not create an undue burden for the employer. Courts look at a number of factors in determining whether the requested accommodation is reasonable. Each request for religious accommodation should be reviewed individually to determine if an accommodation can be made. If the accommodation cannot be made the employer must be able to demonstrate that the religious accommodation creates an undue hardship.