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.