Supreme Court Finds Employer’s Lack of “Actual Knowledge” of Need for Accommodation No Defense to Religious Discrimination Claim

Executive Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that an employer cannot escape liability for religious discrimination under Title VII by arguing that it did not have actual knowledge of an individual’s need for a religious accommodation. Reversing the Tenth Circuit’s decision in favor of the employer, in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., the Court held that an employer “may not make an applicant’s religious practice, confirmed or otherwise, a factor in employment decisions.”