Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  •  In Kristofersdottir v. CVS Health Corp., a nurse-practitioner filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida alleging that CVS revoked all religious accommodations that allowed employees to refuse to prescribe contraceptives, which is the accommodation plaintiff had for over 7 years. 
  • In Dad’s Place of Bryan, Ohio v. City of Bryan, a Christian church filed suit in the Northern District of Ohio, alleging that the city has violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, as well as RLUIPA, by charging the church’s pastor with 18 criminal counts for allowing homeless persons to reside on the property for an extended amount of time in violation of city zoning rules.
  • In Uzomechina v. Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, the District of New Jersey dismissed racial discrimination and wrongful discharge claims brought by a priest who was fired after he was allegedly falsely accused of financial and sexual misconduct. However, the court allowed the priest’s defamation claim, which he alleges that the Diocese passed on false information about him to his subsequent employer, to proceed.
  •  In Carter v. Virginia Real Estate Board,  a Virginia trial court held unconstitutional a portion of Virginia’s Fair Housing Law that said: “use of words or symbols associated with a particular religion . . . shall be prima facie evidence of an illegal preference under this chapter that shall not be overcome by a general disclaimer.” A realtor included references to Jesus and a Bible verse in her email signature and was investigated, but the court invalidated the statute, saying the presumption of animus was unconstitutional.
  • A Michigan hospital agreed to pay a $50,000 settlement in a Title VII discrimination lawsuit alleging that the hospital had refused to hire an employee who had objected on religious grounds to receiving a flu shot. The settlement prohibits the hospital from refusing to hire applicants because of their sincerely held religious beliefs opposing such a vaccine mandate.
  • In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Ram Mandir, a Hindu Temple located on a contested holy site once home to a 16th-century mosque. Critics allege that the temple represents an effort by Modi to elevate the Hindu religion in India’s public life.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In St. Hillaire v. Montefiore Medical Center, a New York federal court ruled against a hospital manager’s religious discrimination claim over a denied Covid vaccine exemption. The court noted the hospital’s legal obligation to follow state mandates, which made the plaintiff’s exemption as a registered nurse impossible without incurring undue hardship.
  • In Russo v. Patchogue-Medford School District, a New York federal court ruled that the school district’s refusal to accommodate a psychologist’s religious objection to Covid mandates did not violate Title VII. The court found the state’s test-or-vaccination requirement to be a neutral law and determined that the plaintiff’s request for remote work, which involved reducing job responsibilities, constituted an undue hardship for the employer.
  • In Melton v. Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church, the Mississippi Supreme Court vacated a lower court’s ruling in a pastor-dismissal dispute. The court declared the chancellor’s involvement in a congregational vote was unconstitutional, stating it breached church-state separation under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.
  • In Kestenbaum v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, students sued Harvard University in a Massachusetts federal court, alleging Title VI Civil Rights Act violations. The complaint accuses Harvard of not protecting Jewish students from widespread anti-Jewish sentiment and discrimination, contrasting its approach to other forms of bias. The suit demands institutional changes, including disciplinary actions and antisemitism training.
  • A Pennsylvania appellate court in South Hills Catholic Academy v. Department of Human Services ruled against the school’s claim that state regulations infringed on its religious freedoms. The court found no violation of religious rights, as the regulations merely required compliance with civil rights laws, which do not apply to religious schools.
  • The State Department, following the International Religious Freedom Act, designated several countries as concerns for religious freedom violations. Among those listed as Countries of Particular Concern are China, Iran, and Russia, while Azerbaijan was included on the Special Watch List. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed disappointment over Nigeria and India’s exclusion from the list.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Legal Spirits 056: Can the NY State Thruway Ban Chick-fil-A?

Chick-fil-A Inc. logo (PRNewsFoto/Chick-fil-A)

In this episode, we discuss a bill pending in New York that would require future fast food restaurants at rest stops on the State Thruway to open seven days a week. The bill expressly targets Chick-fil-A, which closes on Sundays in line with the owners’ religious commitments. Does the bill violate Chick-fil-A’s free exercise rights under the US and NY State Constitutions? And what does this controversy suggest about religious practice in the US? Listen in!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law and religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision blocking Idaho’s nearly total abortion ban, specifically examining whether the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act overrides state laws like Idaho’s Defense of Life Act. President Biden criticized the decision for allowing Idaho’s nearly complete abortion ban to be reinstated.
  • In United States v. Gallagher, a Tennessee federal court limited the extent to which defendants, facing charges for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic, can reference their religious beliefs. The court stated that discussion of religion can be used to establish intent or purpose, but could not be used as a defense.
  • In Church of the Celestial Heart v. Garland, a California federal judge refused to dismiss a RFRA suit challenging the Controlled Substance Act, which restricts the church’s use of Ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic drug.
  • The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is being sued by a Jewish Israeli student claiming discrimination and hostility; the complaint alleges biased admissions and increased harassment after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
  • A Yale professor has filed a sex discrimination suit against the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York for rejecting her application to become Abyssinian’s senior pastor.
  • Pope Francis, in his recent remarks to the Diplomatic Corps at the Holy See, called for a global ban on surrogate motherhood, stating that a child should never be the basis of a commercial contract.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Carrero v. City of Chicago, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois allowed a city employee, who was placed on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with the city’s Covid vaccine mandate because of religious objections, to move ahead with claims under the Free Exercise Clause and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  The employee was denied an exemption from the mandate because he did not bring forth a signed affirmation of belief from his pastor, who had a policy of not signing the forms.
  • In Chaudhry v. Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed Establishment Clause, Due Process and Equal Protection claims by Muslim parents against an Illinois school board where a teacher allegedly convinced their daughter to convert to Christianity. The court found that under Monell, a school board cannot be held liable under the theory of respondeat superior.
  • In Craven v. Shriners Hospital for Children, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon dismissed a Title VII religious discrimination claim brought by a hospital maintenance technician who was fired after he was denied a religious exemption from the employer’s Covid vaccine mandate because the technician had not adequately alleged that his objections to the vaccine were religious in nature.
  • In Markley v. Liberty University, Inc., a Virginia state trial court held that the ministerial exception doctrine does not prevent a former Administrative Dean from suing Liberty University, a Christian institution, where the school terminated his employment because he engaged in whistleblower activities. The court found that the plaintiff was not a “minister” because his responsibilities did not include leading religious organizations or worship services, nor did they include serving as a minister of the faith.
  • The EEOC announced that Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will pay $45,000 in damages to a former maintenance employee who brought a Title VII suit after the employee was denied a religious exemption from the healthcare system’s flu vaccine requirement. Under the settlement, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta agreed to modify its religious exemption policy to presume eligibility for employees who work away from patients and other staff.
  • In another Title VII suit, the EEOC announced that Triple Canopy, Inc. will pay $110,759 in damages to an employee who was denied a religious accommodation of his Christian belief that men must have beards after the employee was unable to provide support for the validity of his beliefs. The company also agreed, in the settlement, to institute a new religious accommodation policy.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Legal Spirits 055: Speaker Mike Johnson on the Separation of Church and State

Speaker Mike Johnson on CNBC last month

In a TV interview last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson raised eyebrows by asserting that Framers welcomed religion in public life and that the Establishment Clause protects religion from the encroachment of government, not the other way around. In this podcast, we show how Johnson was both right and wrong. Many Framers shared his view, but others did not. The controversy over Johnson’s comments is just the latest episode in a continuing debate over the meaning of religious liberty. When we argue about the past, we are really arguing about what our country should be, today. Listen in!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Wiggins v. Griffin, the 2nd Circuit reversed a dismissal by a district court and allowed a Baptist inmate’s lawsuit against prison officials to proceed. The inmate claimed his religious rights were violated when he couldn’t attend religious services for over five months due to a delay in updating the list of prisoners allowed to attend services.
  • In Schneider v. City of Chicago, an Illinois federal district court dismissed a couple’s lawsuit alleging that the city had violated Illinois’s RFRA by requiring COVID vaccinations for large gatherings, including the couple’s wedding. The court ruled that the couple hadn’t shown the city’s health order substantially burdened their religious beliefs.
  • The White House announced nominations for federal circuit and district courts, including Adeel A. Mangi for the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed by the Senate, Mangi would become the first Muslim American to serve on a federal appeals court.
  • In C.P. v. Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a New Jersey appellate court allowed a lawsuit against Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations for negligence after a woman was abused by her grandfather, who was also a church elder. Changes in state laws allowed her to sue the congregations, alleging they knew about the abuse but failed to take proper action to provide a safe environment for children.
  • In Cyriaque v. Director, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, an Ohio appellate court upheld the denial of unemployment benefits to a clinical trainer who was terminated for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine despite seeking a religious exemption. The court determined that the denial was justified as the trainer’s initial exemption request did not align with her later testimony, indicating her opposition was not based on sincere religious beliefs.
  • A Christian school in Vermont has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging state rules that prevent it from participating in educational programs and athletic competitions due to regulations prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The lawsuit claims that these rules conflict with the school’s religious beliefs regarding sexuality and gender.
  • A Jewish doctor is suing NYU Langone after being terminated as director of its cancer research center due to his social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Dr. Neel alleges religious discrimination as his posts were linked to his Jewish identity, while NYU Langone defends its decision, citing breaches of its Code of Conduct and Social Media Policy.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  •  In Walker v. Dismas Charities, Inc., the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Free Exercise Bivens claim by an inmate serving part of his sentence in home confinement. The inmate sued individual employees of a government contractor that contracted with the government to supervise federal prisoners serving home sentences, alleging that his sentence violated his right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment
  • In Bates v. Pakseresht, the plaintiff was denied certification to adopt children through the Oregon Department of Human Services because she would not agree to use a child’s preferred pronouns and undertake other required acts that the state claims “affirm a child’s gender identity” because of her Christian beliefs. The court rejected plaintiff’s free exercise and free speech claims because she was not seeking certification to become a full parent, but instead sought certification “to house and care for a child under the state’s umbrella of protection.”
  •  In Tosone v. Way, suit was filed in the District of New Jersey in early October challenging the New Jersey requirement that candidates filing to run for public office sign an Oath of Allegiance that ends with “so help me God.” The Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Elections recently issued a Memo to County Clerks stating that candidates for public office now have the option of a solemn affirmation or declaration in lieu of an oath, and the phrase “so help me God” will be omitted. Counsel for plaintiffs then filed to voluntarily dismiss the suit.
  • in Grace Community Church- The Woodlands, Inc. v. Southern Montgomery County Municipal Utility District, Grace Community Church filed a complaint challenging a utility district’s requirement that the church pay a capital recovery fee of $83,780 rather than the actual cost of $24,900 to connect its new office building and auditorium to the district’s water system. The church alleges the fee is an unlawful tax on an otherwise tax-exempt organization, and it further violates Texas’ version of RFRA and the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.
  • The White House issued a Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes Action to Address Alarming Rise of Reported Antisemitic and Islamophobic Events at Schools and on College Campuses.The Fact Sheet discusses recent initiatives taken by the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Homeland Security to prevent further antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents which have been taking place at schools and colleges since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
  • A New York Court of Claims judge serving as an active Supreme Court Justice is being investigated and no longer handling criminal cases after the justice asked a Muslim criminal defendant to remove her niqab–a religious garment that covers most of the face–at a plea hearing on October 24.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Hile v. State of Michigan, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Michigan constitutional amendment prohibiting public funds from aiding private or religious schools does not violate the equal protection rights of parents. The amendment restricts the use of the Michigan Educational Savings Program from sending children to religious schools. Plaintiffs argued the amendment was motivated by anti-Catholic bias and restricted their political process rights. The court, however, expressed doubts about the political process doctrine’s applicability to religious discrimination.
  • In Snyder v. Chicago Transit Authority, an Illinois federal district court permitted a plaintiff to proceed with claims under Title VII and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The plaintiff was denied a religious exemption from his former employer’s COVID vaccine mandate.
  • In Kelley v. Gupta, a New York state trial court resolved a dispute within the Hare Krishna movement over a Freeport, New York temple. The court recognized the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (GBC) as the highest ecclesiastical authority, validating GBC’s expulsion of a defendant for practicing ritvikism, deemed by GBC a “dangerous philosophical deviation.” The court ruled in favor of GBC’s ecclesiastical authority and decisions, including the entitlement of GBC’s trustees to immediate possession of the temple and associated properties.
  • In State of Louisiana v. Neveaux, a Louisiana state appeals court dismissed a free exercise challenge alleging that a provision of a criminal procedure code allowed capital case juror dismissal for anti-capital punishment views. The court found the provision neutral and generally applicable, as it does not target specific religions and applies to anyone regardless of their stance on the death penalty.
  • In Craver v. Faith Lutheran Church, a Texas state appeals court ruled that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine necessitated dismissal of a pastor’s lawsuit against his former church employer. The pastor’s breach of contract and fraudulent inducement claims were found to be deeply intertwined with church governance issues, making them unsuitable for secular court adjudication.
  • In response to increased antisemitic incidents in educational institutions following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter. The letter reminds schools and colleges receiving federal aid of their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It emphasizes the requirement to create a discrimination-free environment for students “perceived as Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian,” outlining specific scenarios where discrimination must be addressed.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Pro-Life Action Ministries v. City of Minneapolis, a Minnesota federal district court dismissed void-for-vagueness and expressive-association challenges to a Minneapolis ordinance preventing access disruption to reproductive healthcare facilities. The court, however, allowed the plaintiff’s claims related to free speech, free exercise of religion, and overbreadth to proceed.
  • In Fitz-James v. Ashcroft, a Missouri state appeals court upheld a trial court’s ruling that the Secretary of State’s ballot summaries for six abortion rights initiative proposals were insufficient and unfair. The Secretary of State issued a press release criticizing the decision, stating he plans to appeal it.
  • The Pennsylvania legislature passed Senate Bill 84, repealing the state’s ban on public school teachers wearing religious attire or symbols in the classroom. Governor Josh Shapiro is expected to sign the bill, making Pennsylvania the last state to eliminate such a restriction, which had previously faced legal challenges on First Amendment grounds.
  • Louis Farrakhan filed a $4.8 billion lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, accusing them of interfering with his activities by labeling him an anti-Semite. The complaint alleges violations of the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of association and free exercise of religion, as well as defamation claims.
  • The White House announced plans to develop the first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia in the United States, citing the need to address hate-fueled attacks and discrimination against Muslims, Arabs, and Sikhs.
  • President Biden marked the 25th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act with a statement acknowledging the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination in the United States and the challenges faced by religious minority communities worldwide. He emphasized the United States’ commitment to defending religious freedom both domestically and globally.