Login | July 11, 2023 University of Nebraska-Lincoln (THE CONVERSATION) Does a Colorado designer’s belief that marriage is between one man and one woman merit an exemption to state law barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people? On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the answer is yes: Requiring…
U.S. Supreme Court “Clarifies” Religious Accommodation Standard After Nearly Half a Century
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Groff v. DeJoy , No. 22-174 (June 29, 2023), in which it “clarified” the religious accommodation standard under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Uprooting nearly half a century of precedent, the Court articulated that…
Court sides with Amish families in case that pits septic tank rules against religious beliefs
Members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their "gray water," the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a long-running religious freedom case that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge panel ruled that…
Fifth Circuit Holds That Religious Employers May Be Entitled to Exemptions from Title VII’s LGBTQ Requirements
Subscribe to Our Mailing List > In Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that religious employers may be exempt from Title VII requirements concerning sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination if those requirements are found to…
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Religious Liberty in Groff v. DeJoy
In a significant legal milestone for religious liberty, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Groff v. DeJoy , a case litigated with the assistance of NRB member First Liberty Institute, delivered a resounding affirmation of the rights of employees to freely exercise their religious beliefs. The ruling sets a powerful…
FFRF challenges Arkansas Ten Commandments in today’s hearing
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is one of three sets of plaintiffs making the case today for removal of a Ten Commandments monolith from the grounds of the Arkansas Capitol in the federal courtroom of Judge Kristine G. Baker. FFRF Legal Counsel Sam Grover and local counsel Gerry Schulze are…
Explainer: Recent Supreme Court rulings protect free speech and religious liberty
During the last week of June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings in two cases— 303 Creative v. Elenis and Groff v. Dejoy —that further protects the basic rights of Americans to free speech and religious liberty. Here’s the run-down of what you should know about two of the most…
Supreme Court’s Groff Decision Is a Wake-Up Call for Corporate America | Opinion
In the final days of its most recent term, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court strengthened religious liberty in the workplace when it decided in favor of Gerald Groff, a former United States Postal Service employee who sought a religious accommodation to honor the Sabbath. This is a landmark victory, not…
Freedom of speech and religion vs. discrimination
Last Friday, June 30, the Supreme Court recognized the Constitution prohibits Congress from making a law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech….” It’s funny how freedom of speech and freedom to exercise religion keeps popping up. It’s almost like…
SCOTUS Increases Burden on Employers to Deny Religious Accommodations
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court (“Court”) issued a unanimous opinion in Groff v. DeJoy, finding that the employer-friendly de minimis standard for determining whether an employer would suffer an undue hardship by granting a religious accommodation to an employee is incompatible with the text of Title…
U.S. Supreme Court Toughens Religious Accommodation Standard Under Title VII
Key Takeaways: With its decision in Groff v. DeJoy , the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer must demonstrate granting a religious accommodation would result in substantial increased costs to the employer to justify an accommodation denial. The 9-0 decision nullified a line of lower court cases permitting an…
Michigan Court Rules State Prisons Must Recognize ‘Explicitly Racist’ White Supremacist Group a Real Religion
A federal court has decided that Christian Identity be recognized as an official religion in the Michigan state prison system. Lawyers for two inmates in the Michigan Department of Corrections successfully argued that their clients’ religious beliefs should be welcomed like other faith philosophies, despite organizations like the Anti-Defamation League…
The Colorado website designer’s win is one of dozens of federal cases where religious beliefs and LGBTQ+ rights have clashed
Does a Colorado designer’s belief that marriage is between one man and one woman merit an exemption to state law barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people? On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the answer is yes: Requiring a conservative Christian business owner to create wedding websites for…
The Colorado website designer’s win is one of dozens of federal cases where religious beliefs and LGBTQ+ rights have clashed
Does a Colorado designer’s belief that marriage is between one man and one woman merit an exemption to state law barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people? On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the answer is yes: Requiring a conservative Christian business owner to create wedding websites for…
Supreme Court’s record on religion-related cases is more complicated than it seems
Protesters are seen in front of the Supreme Court ahead of Friday’s rulings. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | July 3 (UPI) — Does a Colorado designer’s belief that marriage is between one man and one woman merit an exemption to state law barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people? On Friday, the…
Supreme Court revives Oregon wedding cake case for ‘further consideration’
A case in which the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that a bakery violated the state’s civil rights law by refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple has been returned to the Oregon Court of Appeals by the US Supreme Court. Wikimedia Commons/Senate Democrats The US Supreme…
U.S. Supreme Court rules Constitution’s Free Speech Clause protects website designer’s plans to refuse same-sex wedding services against state law barring discrimination
303 creative decision In a closely watched Free Speech case, 303 Creative v. Elenis , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment bars the state of Colorado from enforcing its nondiscrimination law against a website designer who wants to create custom wedding websites as part of her business…
US Supreme Court backs website designer who refused to serve same-sex couple
Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/ The US Supreme Court ruled Friday that some private businesses can refuse service to same-sex couples for religious reasons,…
Unanimous Supreme Court Upholds Employee’s Right to Religious Accommodation
COMMENTARY BY the Supreme Court upheld the right of an employee to be granted a religious accommodation by his employer unless doing so would substantially affect the employer’s business. boonchai wedmakawand / Getty Images Key Takeaways In Groff v. DeJoy, the high court reiterated that employees must not be forced…
Supreme Court backs right to not make same-sex wedding websites
Major LGBT rights case could weaken anti-discrimination laws nationwide Protesters in December jockey for position before cameras in front of the Supreme Court during oral arguments in a case about a Colorado anti-discrimination law and same-sex wedding websites. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo) The Supreme Court sided Friday with…
Supreme Court says First Amendment entitles web designer to refuse to do gay weddings
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines that the First Amendment bars Colorado from "forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees." Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said: "Ms. [Lori] Smith seeks to engage in protected First Amendment…
U.S. Supreme Court says Christian web designer can refuse to serve same-sex weddings
Conservative justices form 6-3 majority in case Web designer Lorie Smith poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colo., in this photo taken Nov. 28, 2022. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favour of Smith in a dispute over protections for freedom of speech under the…
Supreme Court to rule on web designer with anti-gay marriage stance
Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/ [1/3] June 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday is poised to rule on whether a Christian…
Decision Expected Friday in Christian Wedding Website Designer Case
Colorado-based website designer Lorie Smith, who runs her own studio called 303 Creative LLC, filed the lawsuit over a Colorado anti-discrimination law. The lawsuit argues that the Colorado law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in several ways, which include the right to free speech, the right to…
Supreme Court Raises Bar in Religious Accommodation Test (2)
The US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2023. Christian postal worker protested denial of Sunday off Religious groups wanted Title VII ‘undue hardship’ to mirror ADA The US Supreme Court unanimously created a higher standard for employers to measure the burden a worker’s religious accommodation request would…