In Ratliff v. Wycliffe Assoc., Inc., No. 6:22-cv-1185-PGB-RMN, 2023 WL 3688082 (M.D. Fla. May 26, 2023), the plaintiff, a software developer, sued the defendant, a Bible translation ministry, for sex discrimination under...more
Ultra Vires Claims - In the absence of a waiver or consent, state government entities and their employees generally enjoy immunity from liability while acting within the scope of their employment. Sovereign immunity, as the...more
In any case where a government official raises a defense of governmental immunity, a key legal question is whether the plaintiff’s pleadings successfully allege ultra vires conduct—that the government official acted without...more
On July 8, 2020 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. civil rights laws barring discrimination on the job do not apply to most lay teachers at religious elementary schools. The decision extends earlier Supreme...more
The U.S. Supreme Court (“the Court”) today re-emphasized the “ministerial exception” to discrimination laws. The “ministerial exception” is a court-created doctrine that prevents the U.S. courts from becoming entangled in the...more
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, No. 19-267: The Court has recognized that the First Amendment protects the right of religious institutions “to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of...more
Whether the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by employees against their religious employer, where the employee carried out important...more
I thought about the quest for the Holy Grail in the context of the problem with facilitation payments. I see them to be as quixotic as the quest for the Holy Grail....more
In its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision, the U.S. Supreme Court first recognized the existence of a “ministerial exception” to the requirements of federal civil rights laws such as Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review two consolidated cases that will afford it an opportunity to develop the “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws it first announced in a 2012 case, Hosanna-Tabor...more
On December 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Yu v. Hasaki Restaurant, Inc., No. 17-3388, that judicial approval is not required to settle Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims via a Federal...more
On November 20, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Office of the General Counsel granted an appeal filed by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTWLDF) on behalf of a hotel housekeeper in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Biel v. St. James School, the Ninth Circuit once again split from other circuit courts, this time by narrowly construed an affirmative defense known as the “ministerial exception” that bars claims of...more
Two affordable housing measures are currently proposed for the November 5, 2019 ballot: (i) City Charter and Code amendments to encourage certain 100% affordable and teacher housing projects by providing for a streamlined...more
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the existence and applicability of the ministerial exception in employment discrimination cases. See Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (2012). ...more
Nonprofit entities often question the dividing line between volunteer work and work considered compensable employment. On December 21, the federal Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter...more
The United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued an opinion letter, FLSA2018-29, on December 21, 2018, concluding that members of a religious organization were not subject to the Fair Labor...more
In its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a “ministerial” exemption to federal civil rights laws. It allows religious employers – without being subjected to claims of discrimination – to make...more
Can an organist really be considered a church minister? In a detailed and unique opinion, an Illinois federal court applied the First Amendment’s religious clauses to a church employee who claimed he had been discriminated...more
In its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a “ministerial exemption” to employment claims brought under Title VII and the ADA. The exception allows religious employers to make what otherwise would...more
For the first time since a 2012 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals elaborated on and applied the Supreme Court’s four-factor analysis to determine whether a position is...more
Timely Topics - A draft executive order of President Donald Trump relating to religious freedom proposes several material changes to federal law. First, it would require the executive branches to recognize a broad scope...more
More than a year ago, then-Deputy Director Michelle K. Lee posted on the Director's Forum Blog that the USPTO was seeking feedback on PTAB trial proceedings established by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA"). The...more
Last week, in my post about the impact of the various iterations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) on wage and hour law, we discussed the general rule that the FLSA does not contain blanket exceptions or...more
In This Issue: -AC31211 - Aguinaldo v. Warner -AC33771 - Thompson Gardens West Condominium Assn., Inc. v. Masto -AC33850 - Unifund CCR Partners v. Schaeppi -AC33400 - Samnard Associates, LLC...more