Decisions in suits by former employees who were denied religious exemptions from employer Covid vaccine mandates continue to be handed down by the courts. Here is a recent example:In Brandon v. Board of Education of the City of St. Louis
Forest Service Is Enjoined from Transferring Apache’s Sacred Land While Cert. Petition Is Pending
As previously reported, in September 2024 a petition for certiorari was filed this week with the U.S. Supreme Court in Apache Stronghold v. United States. In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc,…
South Carolina Abortion Law Does Not Violate Free Exercise Rights
In Bingham v. Wilson, (D SC, May 7, 2025), a South Carolina federal district court refused to dismiss claims by five physicians that the health and fetal anomaly exceptions to South Carolina’s abortion ban are unconstitutionally vague. The court…
Former Justice David Souter Dies; Described As Champion of Church-State Separation
The U.S. Supreme Court announced yesterday that former Justice David Souter died on May 8 at his home in New Hampshire. Souter served on the Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. In a press release mourning his death, Americans…
EEOC Sues Marriott Over Refusal to Accommodate Seventh Day Adventist
On Wednesday, the EEOC announced that it had filed a Title VII religious discrimination suit against two Marriott corporate entities that sell vacation timeshare programs for hotels and vacation clubs, saying in part:According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, management at Marriott…
President Trump Congratulates New Pope
In a message posted yesterday on Truth Social and X, President Trump congratulated newly elected Pope Leo XIV, saying:Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the…
5th Circuit: Religious Liberty Training Order Against Attorneys in Title VII Case Was Improperly Punitive
In Carter v. Local 556, Transport Workers Union of America, (5th Cir., May 8, 2025), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed portions of a Texas federal district court’s judgment against Southwest Airlines and its employee union that…
Bankruptcy Court Allows Child Abuse Victims to File Suits to Avoid New Limits on Damages in Maryland
As previously reported, in September 2023, the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy protection in advance of the Oct. 1, 2023 effective date of the Maryland Child Victims Act. That Act removed the statute of limitations for civil…
Student’s Suit Against University President for Antisemitism Needs Additional Allegations
In Gerwaski v. State of Nevada ex rel. Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, (D NV, May 5, 2025), a Jewish student at University of Nevada Las Vegas sued the university and its president over…
Cremation of Body When Next of Kin Were Unknown Did Not Violate State RFRA
In Doe v. Marion County, Arkansas, (WD AR, May 5, 2025), an Arkansas federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing a suit brought under the Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. At issue in the case is the manner in which an…