As reported this week by Live and Let's Fly, the Swiss airline easyJet has settled a lawsuit brought against it in an Israeli court by a woman passenger who, on a Tel Aviv to London flight, was pressured into moving her seat because a Haredi Jewish passenger refused for religious reasons to sit next to a woman. The airline said that pressuring the woman to move is inconsistent with it policies. [Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
DOE Says Bostock Decision Does Not Apply To Title IX
As reported by Education Week, the U.S. Department of Education has released a Jan. 8, 2021 Memorandum (full text) on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bostock decision on Title IX. While Bostock held that the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the DOE Memo concludes that Bostock does not apply to Title IX, saying in part:
[T]he Department’s longstanding construction of the term “sex” in Title IX to mean biological sex, male or female, is the only construction consistent with the ordinary public meaning of “sex” at the time of Title IX’s enactment.
The memo goes on to provide that some kinds of discrimination based on a person's homosexuality or transgender status may violate Title IX because the discrimination takes into account the person's biological sex. Examples are employment discrimination and sexual harassment. However, in other educational situations, Title IX does not protect against sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination:
We believe the ordinary public meaning of controlling statutory and regulatory text requires a recipient providing separate athletic teams to separate participants solely based on their biological sex, male or female, and not based on transgender status or homosexuality, to comply with Title IX.
Under Title IX and its regulations, a person’s biological sex is relevant for the considerations involving athletics, and distinctions based thereon are permissible and may be required because the sexes are not similarly situated.
Disagreeing with two Circuit Court opinions, the memo states:
[W]e believe the plain ordinary public meaning of the controlling statutory and regulatory text requires a recipient providing “separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex” to regulate access based on biological sex.
The Memorandum also recognizes that religious exemptions under Title IX and RFRA still apply.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
India's Supreme Court Invalidates Ban On Women In Temple
The exclusionary practice being followed at the Sabrimala temple by virtue of Rule 3(b) of the 1965 Rules violates the right of Hindu women to freely practise their religion and exhibit their devotion towards Lord Ayyappa. This denial denudes them of their right to worship. The right to practise religion under Article 25(1) is equally available to both men and women of all age groups professing the same religion.Economic Times reports on the decision.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Alaska Christian Women's Shelter Challenges Requirement It Serve Transgender Women
It would not only be dangerous and against common sense, but would violate the Hope Center’s sincerely held religious beliefs to admit biological men into its shelter and allow them to sleep side by side and disrobe next to women, some of whom have been assaulted by men and fear for their safety.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Switzerland Denies Citizenship To Muslim Couple For Their Rejection of Gender Equality
Officials stressed they were not rejected based on their religion but for their lack of respect for gender equality.[Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Israeli Court Says El Al May Not Ask Women To Change Seats To Accommodate Religious Concerns of Male Passengers
In discussions outside the courtroom, the two sides in the case agreed on a judgment proposed by the judge, declaring that it is forbidden for a crew member to ask a passenger to change seats at the request of another passenger based on gender. El Al agreed to tell its cabin staff in writing about the prohibition within 45 days, and to provide training in how to deal with such situations within six months.The court also awarded plaintiff, 83-year old Renee Rabinowitz, damages equivalent to $1800(US). [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]
Wednesday, March 09, 2016
Australian Court Says Sex-Segregated Seating At Muslim Lecture Violates Anti-Discrimination Law
While the Anti-Discrimination Act has an exemption for acts or practices "of a body established to propagate religion that conforms to the doctrine of that religion or is necessary to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of the adherents of that religion," (Sec. 56(d)), the court concluded that this exemption does not apply. It was not shown that Hizb ut-Tahrir was established to propagate religion. Also because Hizb ut-Tahrir argued that Bevege would have been allowed to choose her own seat if she had requested to do so, this shows that separate seating was not necessary to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of Muslims attending the lecture.
To avoid similar discrimination in the future, the court ordered that at events sponsored by the organization there must be notices that gender segregated seating is not compulsory, and ushers must be made aware of this. Law and Religion Australia has more on the decision.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
El Al Sued In Israel Over Gender-Based Reseating To Accommodate Religious Objections
Thursday, December 24, 2015
NYC Taxi Appeals Unit Says Religious Belief of Driver Does Not Justify Gender Discrimiination
There is strong public policy which prohibits a TLC licensee from engaging in “invidious discrimination while serving the public” .... In addition, it is well established that a taxicab driver is required to possess sufficient self-restraint to deal in a mature fashion with the everyday conflicts inherent in his job.... This includes a situation where the driver’s religious beliefs may conflict with his obligations and duties as a taxi driver to transport members of the public.
Here, the respondent’s determination that it would be proper for the passenger’s husband to sit in the front seat, but not proper for the passenger to do so solely because of her gender, evidenced a discriminatory attitude and constituted an action against the best interests of the public.The cabbie was fined $350 and suspended for one day.