Supreme Court Miniseries: Religious Accommodation at Work
Employment Law Now VII-133 - Hot Summer Employment Law Developments
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Introduces Heightened Standard for Religious Accommodation, Rules Against Affirmative Action, Protects “Expressive” Services - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now VII-130- An Interview With EEOC Commissioner (Vice Chair) Jocelyn Samuels
Employment Law Now VI-116-Top 10 Employment Issues To Consider For The Summer Kick-Off
Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS Coming Soon, OSHA Cracks Down on States, and EEOC Updates Guidance - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now V-104 - Religious Accommodations to Vaccine Policies: An EEOC Update and Best Practices
#WorkforceWednesday: The Biden EEOC, New Religious Guidance, and Diversity Training Ban Repealed - Employment Law This Week
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC Rules and Vaccine Incentives, Prioritizing Worker Health and Safety, Notable Executive Orders - Employment Law This Week®
Can Employers Require COVID-19 Vaccinations?
Vaccines in the time of COVID [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 15]
Deck the Halls (with a lawsuit-free holiday season!)
Employment Law This Week®: DOL’s Association Health Plan Proposal, NJLAD Includes Nursing Mothers, New Unpaid Intern Test, HHS’s Conscience-Based Protections
I-20 - Special Holiday Party Episode
K&L Gates Triage: Avoiding the Risks Associated with Mandatory Vaccination Programs
Seyfarth Synopsis: In two cases issued by the Seventh Circuit, Passarella and Dottenwhy v. Aspirus, Inc. and Bube and Hedrington v. Aspirus Hospital, Inc. the Court held that at the motion to dismiss stage, the fact that a...more
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers attempting to enforce safety policies faced resistance from employees opposed to vaccination mandates. In many cases, employees claimed that taking the vaccine violated...more
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
The Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to unionize Tuesday in an unprecedented step toward forming the first labor union for college athletes and another blow to the NCAA’s deteriorating amateur business model....more
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word derived from the Aramaic ḥuṣpāh. It means impudence, gall, and an audacious disregard for rules. In the world of employment law, it can aptly describe employees who try to get what they want...more
Five Ward and Smith attorneys provided updates related to employment law, including non-compete agreements, unionization efforts, pregnancy laws, and overtime rules for exempt employees, during the firm’s recent In-House...more
As flu and other respiratory virus rates peak across the U.S., hospitals and other health care providers are responding by taking measures such as limiting patient visitors. For years, one element of this response has...more
Hospital Unlawfully Refused Applicant’s Request for Religious Exemption from Flu Shot Requirement and Rescinded Offer of Employment - GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Trinity Health Grand Rapids, formerly known as Mercy Health St....more
In last term’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly increased employers’ obligation to consider religious exemption requests under Title VII. Rather than the previous de minimus burden standard,...more
In Part One of this two-part bulletin, we explored the expansive meaning of religious beliefs entitled to an accommodation under Title VII and the reluctance of courts to second guess whether a belief is “religious” in...more
In September 2023, federal trial courts in Wisconsin and Kentucky issued decisions dismissing plaintiffs’ claims related to employers’ COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements....more
Healthcare Provider Refused to Accommodate Telecommuter with Religious Exemption from COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement, Federal Agency Charges - CLEVELAND – United Healthcare Services, Inc. (United) violated federal law when...more
Florida Furniture Store Fired an Assistant Manager for Refusing to Violate Her Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs, Federal Agency Charges - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Arkansas-based Hank’s Furniture, Inc., a retail seller of home...more
Soap Operas are known for drama. Nothing has caused more drama in the last two years than vaccine mandates. Last week, a California court determined that a plaintiff’s request for religious accommodation at General Hospital...more
Hospital and Health Center Operator Found to Have Denied Employees Religious Exemption From Vaccine Mandate, Federal Agency Said - PHILADELPHIA -- Inspira Medical Centers, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, also known as...more
The Biden administration announced the end of the COVID-19 pandemic declaration on May 11, 2023. While the news has been dominated by the end of the Title 42 declaration, employers are facing uncharted waters, as well. Many...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Groff v. DeJoy, a case I blogged about in January. The case is about what standard of "undue hardship" should apply in religious accommodation cases. Under every...more
If you take on a federal contract, does that make you a state actor? No, according to a unanimous Sixth Circuit panel in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker Company. During World War II, the Army included Smucker’s apple butter in its...more
When a social media platform bans a celebrity or politician due to violation of its rules and standards, we frequently hear that individual complain that the action violates their First Amendment rights to free speech. Every...more
As discussed in last week’s EmployNews, the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming consideration of the standard for considering religious accommodation requests may expand employers’ obligations to agree to employee requests,...more
Health care employment law was once again a critical focus for many legislative bodies in 2022. While much of our 2021 Year in Review focused on how states addressed the COVID-19 pandemic itself, most notably with respect to...more
As we previously reported, former Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an order effective December 27, 2021 requiring private sector employers to mandate that all in-person workers in New York City receive and show proof of...more
Q: Can I terminate an agreement allowing an employee to work remotely?...more
On September 20, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers will end on November 1, 2022. The vaccine mandate for public employees will remain in effect...more
Beginning November 1, 2022, New York City private sector employees will no longer be subject to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Mayor Eric Adams announced on September 20, 2022, that private employers in New York City...more