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Repercussions of Supreme Court’s Groff Decision Start Appearing In Religious Exemption Cases

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
09/29/2023
COVID-19, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden, Religious Discrimination
The impact of the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, which raised the standard for employers to accommodate religious exemptions, is beginning to be felt in lower courts.  Gone are the days when an employer can lawfully disregard a religious accommodation if it imposes more than a de minimis cost on the business.  With Groff, employers must now demonstrate that the burden of granting a religious accommodation for an employee...
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California is Poised to Become the First State to Ban Caste Discrimination

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
09/19/2023
Employment Discrimination, Legislative Developments
On September 5, 2023, the California legislature passed SB-403, sending it to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature.  Largely expected to be signed by Gov. Newson, California is set to become the first U.S. state to explicitly ban caste discrimination.[1]  The new law will include a new protected characteristic which will bar caste discrimination in education, employment, and housing.  The bill will not create a new law, rather it will modify...
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Inconsistent Discipline Allegations Save Police Dispatcher’s Race Discrimination Claims

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
09/12/2023
Employment Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Retaliation
Consistent treatment of similarly situated employees is one way in which employers can defend against claims of discrimination.  Inconsistent treatment, however, can support allegations of discrimination.  A recent decision from Maryland federal court provides an instructive example of how inconsistent enforcement of work rules and disciplining comparable employees differently can create problems under anti-discrimination laws.  Jones v. City of...
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Discrimination Accusations by DOJ Rocket SpaceX to Spotlight…Yet again

Mathew Moldawer
Mathew Moldawer
08/30/2023
Employment Discrimination, Hiring Process, Immigration, National Origin
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s venture that designs, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecraft, faces a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice alleging discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and asylees.  The complaint alleges SpaceX, under the guise of export laws and regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), used discriminatory hiring practices in...
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Fifth Circuit: Discrimination More Than “Ultimate Employment Decisions”

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
08/28/2023
Employment Discrimination, Sex Discrimination
Since July 2, 1965, Title VII has made it illegal for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his [or her] compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1).   Nowhere does the law require that the discrimination be an...
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Former McDonald’s Employee’s Harassment Claim Fails

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
08/03/2023
Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation
To prevail on a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a plaintiff must typically show that there is unwelcome conduct that is based on the plaintiff’s protected characteristic, which is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the plaintiff’s conditions of employment, and that the employment action is imputable to the employer.  When considering whether there is a hostile work environment, courts look...
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Policy Requiring Permanent Work Authorization Does Not Discriminate Against Aliens

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
07/21/2023
Employment Discrimination, Immigration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently ruled against a student who sued ExxonMobil for discrimination when the company rescinded an internship offer.  The case is Aldo De Leon Resendiz v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, No. 21-2211 (4th Cir. 2023). Aldo De Leon entered the United States illegally when he was 8 years old. He received deferred deportation and eligibility for temporary work authorization under the Deferred Action for...
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The (New) Story of the Mad Hatter

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
07/10/2023
Employment Discrimination, Public Sector Employment Law
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.  Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t.  And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be.” The Mad Hatter, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) When I explain the disparate treatment theory in employment discrimination cases, I make the point that the analysis must look at the way people of different protected...
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Harassment Claim Based On Offensive Music Given New Life

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
06/14/2023
Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, Sexual Harassment
Can an employer be liable for workplace harassment resulting from music with sexually graphic lyrics when both women and men find the music offensive?  Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals answered that question with a resounding “yes.”  Sharp v. S&S Activewear, L.L.C., No. 21-17138 (9th Cir. June 7, 2023).  The court had little trouble reversing the trial court’s decision that because employees of both sexes found the music...
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The Difference Between Race and Racism

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
05/26/2023
Employment Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Wrongful Discharge
You may recall an event in Central Park in mid-2020 that involved a woman who called the police when she encountered a birdwatcher.  The birdwatcher was Black.  The woman was white.   Video of the incident went viral.  I’ll spare you the link, but it’s still available (isn’t everything) with a quick search of “Central Park Karen,” as the incident became known. Amy Cooper was walking with her dog off leash in the Bramble, which is...
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