Adam S. Forman, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Detroit and Chicago offices, was quoted in Law360 Employment Authority, in “3 Discrimination Takeaways from the Latest High Court Term,” by Amanda Ottaway. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
While the U.S. Supreme Court term that wrapped up Thursday was very light on meaningful employment discrimination rulings, experts say there are still lessons for workplace bias law practitioners to glean.
The justices skipped review of a school board's challenge to a transgender man's win after he sued over his high school's bathroom access policy; acknowledged the free-speech rights of a former junior varsity cheerleader; and granted a narrowly ruled win to a Catholic adoption agency that didn't want to place kids with same-sex couples.
While these decisions didn't involve bias statutes like Title VII, employment lawyers say they're worth taking note of. …
Here are three takeaways from the high court's latest session. …
Religious Battles Still Loom
Though the Bostock decision just turned one year old, faith-based groups are already pushing for exceptions.
In one federal lawsuit in Texas, for example, religious organizations filed a proposed class action saying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment exempt them from complying with Bostock's interpretation of Title VII.
Bostock's LGBTQ protections keep them "from excluding employees who will subvert the religious mission of their organization," they said.
"In the future I think we'll see cases where you see a clash between religious beliefs and Title VII rights," said Adam Forman, a Midwest-based member at management-side firm Epstein Becker Green.
