In a written opinion issued on March 7, 2024, the EEOC confirmed that an employee must not only show a sincerely held religious belief, but that the employee’s religious belief is actually in conflict with the workplace...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A unanimous Supreme Court has issued its decision in Groff v. Dejoy, clarifying Title VII’s undue hardship standard to mean “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The 8th Circuit recently held that while a request for a religious accommodation may qualify as a protected activity, it is not necessarily “oppositional” so as to give rise to an opposition-clause...more
11/29/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Impression ,
Protected Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII
Title VII requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for an employee’s religious practices. But what is “reasonable” has been the subject of much debate and litigation. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on behalf of a nursing home employee alleging she was forced to receive a flu shot to keep her job when she could not provide a note from a clergy member in support...more
3/15/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Flu Shot Rule ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
Seyfarth Synopsis: Telling African-American employees “that if they had ‘n—– rigged’ the fence, they would be fired” may be enough, standing alone, to state a hostile work environment claim....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision by a federal district court in Minnesota held that a religious accommodation request is not “protected activity” under Title VII. In defending retaliation litigation, employers should...more
7/20/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Protected Activity ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII ,
Work Schedules
Seyfarth Synopsis: In EEOC v. Consol Energy, Inc., the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment against an employer for failing to accommodate an employee’s religious belief that a biometric hand scanner would tag...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a recent federal case the employer has challenged the EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation taking the position that a religious accommodation request does not meet the test for protected activity...more