In Babiy v. Oregon Health and Science University, (D OR, April 22, 2024), an Oregon federal district court dismissed claims for damages brought against a medical school and involved individuals by a patient access specialist who was denied a religious exemption from its Covid vaccine mandate. The University's policy was to deny religious exemptions where their claim was based solely on fetal cell concerns. The court said in part: ... Plaintiff has failed to prove that it was clearly established at the relevant time that the Doe Defendants were barred from (1) attempting to distinguish be ..read more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in Moyle v. United States, (Docket No. 23-726) and Idaho v. United States, (Docket No. 23-727). (Audio and Transcript of full oral arguments). The case poses the question of whether the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act that requires hospitals accepting Medicare to provide stabilizing emergency treatment to patients preempts state abortion bans when such treatment would involve pregnancy termination. The Court took the case without waiting for 9th Circuit review. (See prior posting.) SCOTUSblog reports on the oral ar ..read more

Passover begins this evening. Yesterday President Biden issued a Statement on Passover (full text) which says in part: Tomorrow night, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover, recounting their miraculous Exodus story from hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and their journey to freedom. This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome.... My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. My ..read more

From SSRN: Marcia L. McCormick, Dobbs and Exit in Antidiscrimination Law, (Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2024). Cassidy Terrazas, How Far is Too Far?: Weighing Freedom of Religion with the Best Interest of the Child Standard, (April 18, 2024). Kristine L. Bowman, The New Parents' Rights Movement, Education, and Equality, (University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 91, No. 2, 2024). Russell K. Robinson & David M. Frost, Marriage Equality & Intersectionality, (Anal Soc Issues Public Policy 2023; 23:219–240). Ezra Rosser, Progress and the Taking of ..read more

The Department of Education yesterday, in a 1577-page Release (full text), issued its final rules under Title IX on sex discrimination by educational programs receiving federal financial assistance. Among other things, the new rules provide: § 106.10 Scope.   Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.   § 106.31 Education programs or activities....   (a)(2) In the limited circumstances in which Title IX or this par ..read more

In Ex parte The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., (AL Sup. Ct., April 12, 2024), the Alabama Supreme Court held that the parent bodies of the Methodist Church in Alabama had not shown that an ownership dispute between them and a local church in Dothan, Alabama should be dismissed under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. The Methodist Church's Book of Discipline required church deeds to contain a clause providing the property was held in trust for the parent church. The deed to the Dothan church did not contain such a clause. Four of the Court's 9 Justic ..read more

 In Lozano v. Collier, (5th Cir., April 11, 2024), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a portion of the district court's decision and vacated another portion of it in a challenge by a Muslim inmate to practices that allegedly burdened plaintiff's ability to exercise his religion. The court said in part: In his first RLUIPA claim, Lozano alleges that the [Texas Department of Criminal Justice] Defendants burdened his religious exercise by denying him the opportunity to shower privately with other Muslim inmates for Jumah.  He alleges that the shower conditions—which include ..read more

 In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, (Sup. Ct., April 17, 2024), the U.S. Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Kagan, clarified the extent to which harm must be shown in a Title VII employment discrimination case in which plaintiff alleges a discriminatory job transfer. The court said in part: The courts below rejected the claim on the ground that the transfer did not cause Muldrow a “significant” employment disadvantage.  Other courts have used similar standards in addressing Title VII suits arising from job transfers.  Today, we disapprove that approach. Although an employe ..read more

In The King (On the application of TTT) v. Michaela Community Schools Trust, (High Ct., Kings Bench, April 16, 2024), a British trial court in an 83-page opinion rejected a Muslim student's challenge to a secular secondary school's Prayer Ritual Policy (PRP) that prevented the student from using part of her lunch break to perform her Duhr prayer. The policy was adopted by the high-performing school, in which half of the students were Muslim, after prayer by some students led to divisions within the student body and to threatening social media posts. The court said in part: It seems to me that ..read more

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 377-44 adopted House Resolution 883 (full text) stating that the slogan, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'" is antisemitic. After 29 "Whereas" clauses, the Resolution reads: That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (1) the slogan, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, is outrightly antisemitic and must be strongly condemned;  (2) this slogan is divisive and does a disservice to Israelis, Palestinians, and all those in the region who seek peace; (3) this slogan rejects ca ..read more