Employment Law This Week: EEOC Enforcement Data, Definition of “Religion,” ACA Class Action, Justice Scalia’s Death
Polsinelli Podcasts - Can Your Employee Wear That to Work? EEOC Updated Guidelines
The United States is an ever-changing cultural landscape. As a nation of immigrants, we are a complex patchwork of individuals from diverse backgrounds, each bringing distinct ethnic, cultural and religious beliefs. Estate...more
An employee simply holding an objectionable belief is not enough to justify disciplinary action but how it is manifested can be subject to limitations if it impacts the employer or others. While employers can take action...more
The order establishes a federal policy that prohibits the use of discretionary federal funds to support or subsidize educational institutions that require COVID-19 vaccinations for in-person attendance. It directs the...more
Fired Pastor's Ousting During Church Service Did Not Violate His Free Exercise Rights Anthony J. Sirven In Couzens v. City of Forest Park, Ohio, 114 F.4th 571, 574 (6th Cir. 2024), church leaders hired off-duty municipal...more
“Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness... We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with a difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” -The...more
On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued long-awaited enforcement guidance on workplace harassment. The “Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” published in the...more
Many faith communities across the spectrum are taking a breath and asking themselves hard questions after this week’s release of the investigative report into the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee conducted by...more
On March 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ramirez v. Collier, No. 21-5592, reversing the Fifth Circuit, and holding that because Texas’ restrictions on religious touch and audible prayer in the execution chamber...more
In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, many employers are implementing vaccination requirements for employees. Vaccination policies are employer specific and vary widely in terms of their particular...more
On April 9, 2021, the Supreme Court held in Tandon v. Newsom that California’s limitations on religious gatherings in homes likely violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The Court therefore enjoined...more
With the new Biden Administration now in place, including the recent appointment of Jenny Yang as the new Director of the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP), government contractors...more
On November 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published for public comment a proposed update to its Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination for public comment, which has not been...more
Working alongside Freedom Now, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocacy for prisoners of conscience around the world, Proskauer obtained a victory before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (the...more
As we are all well aware, the various COVID-19 social distancing guidance and states’ Stay-at-Home Orders have changed the way most of us interact with the world on a daily basis. This is especially true for religious...more
Raising children born of interfaith marriages can have its challenges (and of course, its unique joys – Chrismukkah, anyone?), but at least parents in intact families navigate and mediate these challenges together. If and...more
Before the end of each day at last week’s Shale Insight Conference in Pittsburgh, first MSC President Dave Spigelmyer and then WVONGA President Anne Blankenship warned the attendees to take off their conference badges once...more
Many of you who read the headline about “Onionhead” being considered a religion in the context of a discrimination case may have guffawed or shaken your head in disbelief. The 102-page opinion by U.S. District Court Judge...more
Late last month, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled that directional signs to a church, which contained images of a cross and bible, did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The...more
On April 6, 2016, several local religious leaders and scholars obtained a permanent injunction against the County of Los Angeles, which had approved a measure in 2014 altering the official County Seal to include a Christian...more
We invite you to view Employment Law This Week - a weekly rundown of the latest news in the field, brought to you by Epstein Becker Green. We look at the latest trends, important court decisions, and new developments that...more
Of all the heartfelt gestures you can make this Valentine’s Day – sending roses, a box of chocolates, or even just a greeting card – perhaps nothing means more than simply saying “I love you.” But an employer who did just...more
Includes Key Federal Sector Decisions, Special Article on Religious Expression - WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the latest edition of its federal sector Digest of...more
Leading the News - Burkina Faso: On September 25th, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council issued a statement welcoming the reinstatement of President Michel Kafando and the transitional authorities of Burkina...more
In what continues to be a controversial and developing area of employment law, a federal appellate court recently validated the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) “opt out” provision, finding that requiring nonprofit employers to...more
Benjamin Bloedorn is an itinerant preacher who travels from college campus to college campus, loudly proclaiming his evangelical message for hours on end to anyone within earshot. In March 2008 he arrived at Georgia Southern...more