Showing posts with label Employment discrimination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Employment discrimination. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Certiorari Denied in Case of Jurors Disqualified Because of Religious Beliefs

Today the Supreme Court denied review in Missouri Department of Corrections v. Finney, (certiorari denied, 2/20/2024). In the case a Missouri state appellate court (full text of state court opinion) upheld a trial court's striking of three potential jurors for cause. The suit involved claims against the Department of Corrections by a lesbian employee alleging sex discrimination and hostile work environment. The potential jurors were disqualified because of their strongly-held religious views that homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuality was an important issue in the case. Justice Alito filed a Statement respecting the denial of certiorari indicating that were it not for a complicating state law issue in the case, he would have voted to grant review, saying in part:

Before us, the Department of Corrections argues that these for-cause dismissals were unconstitutional, and I agree that the Court of Appeals’ reasoning raises a very serious and important question that we should address in an appropriate case. The judiciary, no less than the other branches of State and Federal Government, must respect people’s fundamental rights, and among these are the right to the free exercise of religion and the right to the equal protection of the laws. When a court, a quintessential state actor, finds that a person is ineligible to serve on a jury because of his or her religious beliefs, that decision implicates fundamental rights.

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Religious Organization Lacks Standing to Challenge Interpretation of State Anti-Discrimination law

In Union Gospel Mission of Yakima, Wash. v. Ferguson, (ED WA, Sept. 1, 2023), a Washington federal district court dismissed for lack of standing a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Washington Supreme Court's interpretation of the state's anti-discrimination law. The state Supreme Court in a prior case interpreted the statute's exemption for non-profit religious organizations to be limited to situations covered by the ministerial exemption doctrine.  In this case, plaintiff that operates a homeless shelter and thrift store and also provides social services sought a declaration that religious organizations have a constitutional right to hire, even in non-ministerial positions, only those who agree with its religious beliefs and who will comply with its religious tenets and behavior requirements. In dismissing the lawsuit, the court found that there was no credible threat of enforcement against plaintiff, and that this suit was a disguised attempt to appeal a Washington Supreme Court decision in violation of the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

5th Circuit En Banc Expands Its Interpretation of Title VII

In Hamilton v. Dallas County, (5th Cir., Aug. 18, 2023), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of appeals in an en banc decision overturned the Circuit's previous precedent that held employment discrimination violates Title VII only if the discrimination involved an ultimate employment decision such as hiring, granting leave, discharging, promoting or compensating. In this case, the Dallas County Sheriff's Department gave its detention service officers two days off each week.  However, only men could choose to take two weekend days; women officers could only have one weekend day and one weekday, or two weekdays. The majority said in part:

Nowhere does Title VII say, explicitly or implicitly, that employment discrimination is lawful if limited to non-ultimate employment decisions. To be sure, the statute prohibits discrimination in ultimate employment decisions—“hir[ing],” “refus[ing] to hire,” “discharg[ing],” and “compensation”—but it also makes it unlawful for an employer “otherwise to discriminate against” an employee “with respect to [her] terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.”

Our ultimate-employment-decision test ignores this key language.

While the decision relates to a sex discrimination claim, the holding applies equally to religious discrimination.

Judge Ho filed a concurring opinion.

Judge Jones, joined by Judges Smith and Oldham concurred only in the judgment, saying in part:

The majority's incomplete ruling ... leaves the bench, bar, and employers and employees with no clue as to what this court will finally declare to be the minimum standard for Title VII liability....

... [A]s the majority recognizes, the Supreme Court emphasizes that Title VII does not effectuate a workplace “general civility code.”...Yet as written, the majority opinion has no baseline for “discrimination” based on terms or conditions of employment.

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

MD Supreme Court: State Law Sex Discrimination Ban Does Not Include Sexual Orientation Discrimination

In Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, (MD Sup. Ct., Aug. 14, 2023), the Maryland Supreme Court, responding to certified questions from a federal district court, refused in interpreting state law to follow the analogous holding of the U.S. Supreme Court in its Title VII Bostick decision.  The Maryland court held that, in light of the separate prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination in state law, the ban on sex discrimination in the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act does not also cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It went on to hold that in light of the specific ban on pay disparities based on sex or gender identity, the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act does not bar pay disparities based on sexual orientation. Finally the court held that the exemption in the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act for "a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity to perform work connected with the activities of the religious entity" covers "claims brought by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission (or missions) of the religious entity." It is not co-extensive with the ministerial exception doctrine.

Justice Hotten, joined by Justice Eaves, filed a dissenting opinion contending that the ban on sex discrimination in both statutes includes sexual orientation discrimination. They would also read the religious institution exemption more narrowly than the majority, contending that it only applies when a nexus exists between the employer’s religious activities and the work that an employee performs.

The underlying case that led to the certified questions involved a complaint by a Program Data Analyst employed by Catholic Relief Services who was denied spousal health benefits for his same-sex spouse.

[Thanks to Arthur Spitzer for the lead.]

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

NJ Anti-Discrimination Law Creates Defense for Catholic School That Requires Teachers to Follow Catholic Teachings

 In Cristello v. St. Theresa School, (NJ Sup. Ct., Aug. 14, 2023), the New Jersey Supreme Court dismissed a suit against a Catholic school which had fired an art teacher/ toddler room caregiver who was unmarried and become pregnant.  The teacher's employment agreement required her to abide by the teachings of the Catholic Church and prohibited employees from engaging in premarital sex. The teacher sued under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) alleging pregnancy and marital status discrimination.  The court's majority opinion held that the LAD provision creating an exception for religious organizations following the tenets of its religion in establishing employment criteria gives the school an affirmative defense. The majority said in part:

Determining whether a religious employer’s employment action was based exclusively on the tenets of its religion requires application of only neutral principles of law and does not impermissibly entangle the courts in ecclesiastical matters.

Justice Pierre-Louis filed a concurring opinion taking the position that the religious tenet provision does not create an affirmative defense, but instead shifts to plaintiff the requirement to show that the purported reason for the firing was a pretext for prohibited discrimination. However here plaintiff did not show that this was a pretext.

Washington Examiner reports on the decision.

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Charlotte Burrows For Third Term on EEOC

Yesterday, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Charlotte A. Burrows for a third term as a Member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has served as Chair of the Commission since 2021. Before her appointment to the EEOC, Burrows served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice.  Burrows' nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. The EEOC enforces federal employment anti-discrimination laws, including the ban on religious discrimination.

Friday, May 19, 2023

New Michigan Law Bars Employment Discrimination Because of Abortion

Yesterday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed SB147 (full text) which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to bar discrimination because the individual has had an abortion. Bridge Michigan reports on the new law.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments Today In Title VII Religious Accommodation Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in Groff v. DeJoy, an important religious liberty case testing the extent to which Title VII requires accommodation of employees' religious practices. In the case, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, held that accommodating a Sunday sabbath observer by allowing him not to report for work on Sunday would cause an "undue hardship" to the U.S. Postal Service.  Thus, failure to grant that accommodation did not violate Title VII. (See prior posting.) In the case, petitioners are asking the Supreme Court to revisit and reject the "more than de minimis" test for "undue hardship" announced in TWA v. Hardison. SCOTUSblog has a Case Preview with more details on the parties' arguments. The SCOTUSblog Case Page has links to the filings by the parties as well as to the more than 50 amicus briefs that have been filed. The arguments will be streamed live from the Supreme Court today at 10:00 AM here. The transcript and audio of the full oral arguments will be available later today here on the Supreme Court's website.

Friday, March 03, 2023

Christian Mission Challenges Narrowing of Washington State's Religious Exemption From Employment Non-Discrimination Law

Suit was filed yesterday in a Washington federal district court by a Christian social service agency contending that the Washington Supreme Court's recent interpretation of the state's employment discrimination law violates the First Amendment. The complaint (full text) in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima, Wash. v. Ferguson, (ED WA, filed 3/3/3023) alleges in part:

The Mission’s employees must adhere to certain Christian belief and behavior requirements—including abstaining from any sexual conduct outside of biblical marriage between one man and one woman—in order to properly live out and represent a Christian lifestyle and to not undermine the Mission’s religious message....

The WLAD [Washington Law Against Discrimination] used to protect the Mission by exempting religious nonprofit organizations from its provisions, but the Washington Supreme Court recently gutted the religious employer exemption, reducing it to the “ministerial exception.” See Woods v. Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, 197 Wash. 2d 231 (2021), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 1094 (2022).... 

Post-Woods, Defendant Ferguson has made clear the State’s position that the WLAD now prohibits religious organizations from considering sexual orientation in hiring their non-ministerial employees....

As a result of the judicially re-written WLAD, and Defendants’ enforcement of the WLAD, the Mission now faces significant penalties for using its religiously-based hiring criteria for “non-ministerial” employees.

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Wednesday, March 01, 2023

Department of Labor Rescinds Trump Administration Rule Broadening Religious Exemptions from Non-Discrimination Rules

The Department of Labor published in today's Federal Register a release (full text) rescinding a Trump Administration rule that defined expansively the religious exemption in the agency's rules imposing anti-discrimination requirements on government contractors and subcontractors. According to DOL:

 [T]he 2020 rule increased confusion and uncertainty about the religious exemption, largely because it departed from and questioned longstanding Title VII precedents..... 

Commenters who supported rescission overwhelmingly agreed that the 2020 preamble raised a serious risk that the rule would be implemented to permit contractors to discriminate against individuals based on protected classes other than a preference for persons of a particular religion.....

OFCCP emphasizes that, absent strong evidence of insincerity, OFCCP would accept a religious organization’s own assertions regarding doctrinal questions. However, OFCCP believes it is important to clarify that it is not appropriate to construe the Executive Order 11246 religious exemption to permit a qualifying religious organization to discriminate against employees on the basis of any protected characteristics other than religion.

Bloomberg Law reports on the rule change, (See prior related posting.)

Friday, February 24, 2023

Seattle Becomes First U.S. City To Outlaw Caste Discrimination

Seattle, Washington this week became the first U.S. city to add "caste" discrimination to its anti-discrimination laws. The Ordinance (full text), enacted on Feb. 21, in Section 14.04.030 defines caste as:

a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion.

The Ordinance begins with some two-dozen "Whereas" clauses. They assert in part that:

... caste discrimination is based on birth and descent, and occurs in the form of social segregation, physical and psychological abuse, and violence; and

... caste discrimination manifests in employment, education, and housing....

 Time has a lengthy background article on the new legislation.

Monday, November 07, 2022

Actor's Disparate-Impact Religious Discrimination Claim Is Dismissed

 In Dunbar v. Disney, (CD CA, Nov. 3, 2022), a California federal district court dismissed an amended complaint filed by "9-1-1" actor Rockmond Dunbar in his Title VII disparate-impact religious discrimination claim against Walt Disney Company. Dunbar was denied a religious exemption from Disney's Covid vaccine mandate and was fired when he refused to be vaccinated. He claimed that according to beliefs of his Universal Wisdom Church it is a sacrilege to ingest medication, chemicals, or other foreign matters that defy natural law. His disparate impact claim failed originally because he was unable to identify other Universal Wisdom Church members who were similarly impacted. He then amended the complaint to allege that three other employees of other religious denominations were impacted. The court held, however, that this was insufficient to identify a "protected group" that was impacted because the group he points to is identified solely by the existence of the alleged discriminatory business practices. Hollywood Reporter reports on the decision.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

European Court OK's Company Rule Neutrally Banning Wearing of All Signs of Religious Belief

 In L.F. v. S.C.R.L., EU EDJ, Oct. 13, 2022), the Court of Justice of the European Communities, in a request from Belgium for a preliminary ruling, held that a private company may prohibit employees from wearing all visible signs of political, philosophical or religious belief in the workplace.  This would not constitute direct discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in violation of Council Directive 2000/78 so long as the company's policy covers any manifestation of religious, philosophical or spiritual beliefs without distinction and treats all employees alike by requiring them in a general and undifferentiated way to dress neutrally. Such a rule might constitute indirect discrimination if it had a disparate impact on persons of one religion, but would not if it were objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim were appropriate and necessary. The question arose in the context of a company's refusal to employ a Muslim woman as an intern because she insisted on wearing a hijab. The Court issued a press release announcing the decision. Law & Religion UK also has coverage.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Physician Assistant Sues Hospital That Fired Her Over Treatment Of Transgender Patients

 A suit was filed on Tuesday in a Michigan federal district court by a woman who had worked as a physician assistant for 17 years, but was then fired for refusing, on religious grounds, to refer patients for gender transitioning drugs and procedures and to use pronouns that correspond to a patient's gender identity rather than their biological sex. In a claim denied by the fired employee, it was also claimed she altered template pronouns on medical records.  The complaint (full text) in Kloosterman v. Metropolitan Hospital, (WD MI, filed 10/11/2022), alleges in part:

9. By exhibiting open hostility toward Ms. Kloosterman’s religious beliefs, University of Michigan Health-West officials violated the Free Exercise Clause.... 

10. By accommodating secular preferences while refusing to grant a religious accommodation to Ms. Kloosterman, University of Michigan Health-West’s actions trigger and fail strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause.... 

11. By seeking to compel Ms. Kloosterman to speak biology-obscuring pronouns that would violate her conscience and her medical judgment, as doing so could cause patients to miss potentially life-saving screenings, University of Michigan Health-West also violated the Free Speech Clause.... 

12. When it engaged in the aforementioned actions and fired Ms. Kloosterman, University of Michigan Health-West also violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, as well as Article I, §§ 2, 4, and 5 of the Michigan Constitution and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976....

First Liberty issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Suit Challenges California's Linking Of Hinduism With Caste System

A Hindu advocacy organization has filed suit in a California federal district court challenging allegations in the California Civil Rights Department's enforcement actions against caste discrimination that link the caste system to Hinduism. The complaint (full text) in Hindu American Foundation, Inc. v. Kish, (ED CA, filed 9/20/2022), alleges in part:

[A] caste system or discrimination on its basis are in no way a legitimate part of Hindu beliefs, teachings, or practices. 

HAF vehemently opposes all types of discrimination; and takes great exception to the State of California defaming and demeaning all of Hinduism by attempting to conflate a discriminatory caste system with the Hindu religion. 

Worse, California defames Hinduism by doing what the U.S. Constitution says it cannot, assert a government right to resolve questions of religious doctrine....

As a result, the CRD’s violation of the First Amendment rights of all Hindu Americans ... would likely lead employers to actively  discriminate against Hindu and South Asian Americans in order to avoid the undefined maze of  legal uncertainty that would be California’s caste-discrimination bar....

Stopping caste-based discrimination is a worthy goal that directly furthers Hinduism’s belief in the equal and divine essence of all people. But wrongly tying Hindu beliefs and practices to the abhorrent practice of caste-discrimination undermines that goal, violates the First Amendment rights of all Hindu-Americans, and can only lead to a denial of due process and  equal protection to Americans based on their religious affiliation and national origin.

(See prior related posting.) Hindu American Foundation issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Christian University Trustees Sued Over LGBTQ Hiring Policy

Suit was filed this week in a Washington state trial court against six members of the Board of Trustees of Seattle-Pacific University challenging the University's policy of refusing to hire LGBTQ faculty or staff if they are in a same-sex marriage or a same-sex relationship.  The complaint (full text) in Guillot v. Whitehead, (WA Super. Ct., filed 9/11/2022), brought by a group of students, faculty and staff, alleges breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and interference with contractual relationships. It contends that "rogue" members of the University Board of Trustees have misled other Board members about the vote necessary to eliminate the hiring policy. The University, which was founded by the Free Methodist Church of North America, defines itself as a Christian university. One-third of its board members and its president must be members of the Free Methodist Church. The complaint alleges in part:

1. This case is about six men who act as if they, and the educational institution they are charged to protect, are above the law.

2. They are powerful men who use their positions, as trustees of Seattle Pacific University (“SPU”), to advance the interests of a religious denomination at the expense of the students, alumni, staff, and faculty of the university....

102. SPU is a university in crisis, stemming from the abusive leadership of entrenched interests who usurped control of the BOT to place it in service of sectarian-motivated LGBTQ+ discrimination....

AP reports on the lawsuit.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Ministerial Exception Doctrine Requires Dismissal Of Race and National Origin Discrimination Claim

In Chris v. Kang, (D OR, July 26, 2022), an Oregon federal district court dismissed a claim of race and national origin discrimination brought by plaintiff who was not hired as the Worship Pastor of Village Baptist Church.  Plaintiff claimed he was not hired because he was not a native English speaker, was said to be unfamiliar with American culture and to speak with an accent. The court held that the ministerial exception doctrine applies to both Title VII and state employment discrimination claims, insulating from judicial review the church's decisions on who should be its ministers.

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

European Court Says Belgium Can Protect Religion and Religious Beliefs Of Employees

In LF v. SCRL, (CJEU, April 28, 2022), the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a recommended answer to a question referred to it by the Brussels (Belgium) Labor Court.  At issue was whether a provision in Belgian law giving special protection to "religious or philosophical belief" of employees is consistent with European Council Directive 2000/78 on equal treatment in  employment. The Directive allows countries to enact laws that are more protective than those set out in the Directive. The Advocate General concluded that Belgium could give special protection to "religion and religious beliefs" but not just to "religious or philosophical beliefs" since those are not separately protected categories. The question arose in a case in which a Muslim woman was not offered an internship for which she interviewed because she insisted on wearing a hijab or other head covering in violation of the employer's rule that employees not wear clothing that expresses their religious, philosophical or political beliefs. [Thanks to Law & Religion UK for the lead.]

Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Court Concludes Church Did Not Fire Cook Who Cohabited Outside of Marriage

In Sandoval v. Madison Equal Opportunities Commission, (WI App, Feb. 24, 2022), a Wisconsin state appellate court upheld the finding of the Madison Equal Opportunities Commission that Capitoland Christian Center Church did not engage in employment discrimination against plaintiff who was employed as a cook by the church.  Plaintiff violated an agreement with the church that she would not cohabit with members of the opposite gender outside of wedlock. The court concluded that substantial evidence supported the Commission's finding that plaintiff resigned and was not fired nor constructively discharged. Christian Post reports on the decision.

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

British Employment Tribunal Says Equality Act Does Not Cover Discrimination Because Of Fear Of COVID

Among other things, Britain's Equality Act, §10, prohibits discrimination on the basis of "belief".  In X v. Y, (Empl. Trib., Dec. 13, 2021), an Employment Tribunal in England's city of Manchester held that an employee's fear of catching COVID-19 and her need to protect herself and others does not qualify as a "belief" for purposes of the Act.  The Tribunal said in part:

I do not find that the claimant’s fear amounts to a belief. Rather, it is a reaction to a threat of physical harm and the need to take steps to avoid or reduce that threat. Most (if not all) people, instinctively react to perceived or real threats of physical harm in one way or another.... However, a fear of physical harm and views about how best to reduce or avoid a risk of physical harm is not a belief for the purposes of section 10.

Law & Religion UK reports on the decision.