Questioning Religious Beliefs: Is It Worth The Fight?

Two recent COVID-19 vaccine accommodation decisions illustrate the potential cost and disruption of disputes over the sincerity of an employee’s professed religious belief. In one case, a jury found that an employee failed to establish a sincere religious objection to vaccination. In the other, a federal court allowed a religious discrimination claim to proceed based largely on allegations that the...

Second Circuit Finds Refusal To Discuss Settlement May Constitute Protected Activity

An employee's refusal to even discuss settling a discrimination claim may be protected activity, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled. The employee asserted that she had pursued discrimination and retaliation claims for years before she declined the employer’s requested meeting and that she later experienced additional retaliation, including termination. The decision addresses an unusual retaliation...

EEOC And Labor Department Continue Outreach Campaign Focused On Protecting American Workers

Recent actions by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Labor Department indicate that the Trump administration is maintaining its focus on employment practices that it perceives as disadvantaging American workers. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has used social media and video messages to encourage workers to report alleged anti-American discrimination, while the agency's redesigned homepage prominently features related resources. Meanwhile,...