Vaccine Exemption Policy Requiring Citation to Official Doctrine Violates First Amendment Madison Houghton and Nathan A. Adams IV In Does 1-11 v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Colorado, 100 F. 4th 1251 (10th Cir. 2024), former...more
On April 2, 2024, Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, the Iowa Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which became effective immediately. Iowa’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) is modeled on a similar law...more
Failure to Extend Extracurricular Opportunities to Parochial School Students Violates Free Exercise In Religious Rights Foundation of Pa. v. State College Area Sch. Dist., No. 23-CV-01144, 2023 WL 8359957 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 1,...more
Earlier this month, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington certified a class of individuals who were denied gender-affirming care by a third-party administrator, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois...more
On Aug. 4, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its proposed rule, Nondiscrimination in Health Care and Activities (Proposed Rule), to revise its regulations pertaining to Section 1557 of the...more
A focus on equal employment opportunity and the protection of religious freedom will become part of future reviews for federal supply and service contractors’ compliance with regulations under two policy directives issued by...more
On August 10, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a new policy directive aimed at protecting the religious freedom of employees and ensuring a “level playing field” for...more
Since 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressly construed a neutral law of general applicability as consistent with the free exercise clause. Deeming Colorado's public accommodations law just such a law, the Colorado Court...more
How Did We Get Here? - The free exercise clause is found in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise...more
Some employers may want to reconsider their approach to gender transition benefits after a federal court enjoined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing its 2016 nondiscrimination regulations...more
On Saturday, December 31, 2016, a federal judge in Texas entered a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of antidiscrimination protections pertaining to transgender and abortion health services and...more
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a transgender discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC, citing the company owner’s religious beliefs and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The case involved the termination of a...more
Almost every day the news carries an additional story about Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who has defied the Supreme Court by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Kim Davis story may be...more
In its first opportunity to apply Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case holding same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, the Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held the state must recognize same-sex...more
The decision by the United States Supreme Court on same-sex marriage has been greeted with praise and disdain by different corners of the country. The faith-based community has been especially outspoken. This is not...more