12 results for 'cat:"Employment" AND cat:"Employment Discrimination" AND cat:"First Amendment"'.
J. Nachmanoff grants the hospital's motion for summary judgment. The employee claimed the hospital's the COVID-19 vaccination requirement violated his religious beliefs concerning abortion, which prevent him from taking any product developed or tested using aborted fetal cell lines. However, the hospital had approved use of the Novavax vaccine that does not contain fetal cell lines.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Nachmanoff, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv132, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Covid-19, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. St. Eve finds that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the school's appeal of the lower court's order denying its motion to dismiss a sex discrimination suit on the basis of church autonomy. The lower court has not issued a conclusive decision on the school's church-autonomy defense, and did not second-guess the school's determination that the teacher was not in doctrinal good standing. Rather, the viability of the school's defense depends on the strength of the teacher's allegations related to pretext.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 21-2683, Categories: Jurisdiction, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Tunheim partially grants the university and its employees' motion to dismiss the former employee's suit alleging a pattern of race, gender and age discrimination and harassment. The university's status as a religious institution and its mission statements and Declaration of Christian Community are not sufficient on their own for its employees' conduct to fall under the ministerial exception to employment-discrimination claims at this stage of litigation. The doctrine of laches is similarly insufficient to dismiss the former employee's case at this stage, since the facts as pleaded suggest that the employee's action was initiated within a reasonable timeline. Two voluntarily-waived claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 0:23cv2199, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
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J. Coleman partially denies Chicago’s motions to dismiss numerous civil rights claims brought by a city worker. The worker opposes Chicago’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for city employees and refused to get it on religious freedom grounds, despite contracting Covid-19 in September 2020 and being hospitalized for nine days. The city denied his request for a religious exemption and, when he still refused the vaccine, was eventually put on “no pay status.” After reviewing the case, the court dismisses the employee’s 14th Amendment and Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience
Act claims, but allows his First Amendment, Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII claims to stand.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Coleman, Filed On: January 2, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv650, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation, first Amendment
J. Thurston denies, in part, a county and others’ motion to dismiss a former chief deputy’s First Amendment and wrongful termination claims arising from his termination after failing to be elected as sheriff. He has sufficiently alleged his claims and they were timely filed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Thurston, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv321, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Johnson grants the dismissal motions filed by the city and the police chief in this lawsuit brought by a former police officer who was allegedly terminated for certain social media posts that violated department rules. The posts at issue were made prior to his employment with the police department, and he contends in this suit that his First Amendment rights were violated by his termination. However, the city's interest "in maintaining a police force that instills public confidence" outweighs the former police officer's interest "in his protected speech."
Court: USDC Northern District of Oklahoma , Judge: Johnson, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 4:19cv538, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Bell grants a local Catholic diocese's motion to dismiss allegations of Hate Crime Act violations brought by an applicant to a lector position, which involves reading scriptures to the public. The applicant claims the diocese discriminated against him based on his diagnoses of bipolar disorder and the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed from fighting in the Vietnam War. However, because this is a criminal complaint, it cannot be settled in civil court, nor would the court be able to intervene in the decisions of the diocese based on the First Amendment.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv365, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Block denies in part a motion to dismiss a former New York police officer’s First Amendment rights violations alleging he was fired from the police force following an investigation into his relationships with conservative firebrand Roger Stone and members of the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other individuals and organizations who supported former President Donald Trump. The investigation began after an anonymous tip that alleged the litigant participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The court preserves a single claim under his right to expressive association against the NYPD officials in their individual capacities, finding he sufficiently alleges that he suffered disciplinary action due to his actions which were of a matter of public concern, specifically Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Block, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv5109, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly found for the Catholic school on discrimination claims stemming from its firing of guidance counselor for marrying another woman. The counselor clearly worked in a ministerial role, sharing her own spiritual experiences and conveying religious teachings to young people seeking direction. Therefore, the misterial exception bars this suit. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2954, Categories: employment Discrimination, first Amendment