September 20, 2024 – As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels in the United States, ADL (Anti-Defamation League), OneTable, and Passages Israel are working to build bridges between the Jewish and Christian communities through shared experiences and dialogue. Their joint initiative, “A Light in the City,” aims to foster friendship and understanding by hosting Shabbat dinners in four key cities. The pilot program, to take place in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York…
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At issue in this case is a wedding photographer who seeks a religious exemption to Louisville's anti-discrimination ordinance for the purpose of denying wedding-related services to same-sex couples. ADL joined 14 other faith-based organizations in a brief led by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The brief argues that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment does not require granting the photographer a religious exemption to this neutral, generally…
New York, NY, February 28, 2023… ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today joined an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Groff v. DeJoy, supporting people of faith seeking religious accommodations in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VII requires employers to allow religious accommodations for employees unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, the Supreme…
In Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), the Supreme Court held that an employer is required to allow a religious accommodation for an employee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, the Court defined an “undue hardship” as anything that imposes “more than a de minimis cost” for the employer — a very low standard that has made it difficult over the years…
In this case against the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), a Sikh USMC Captain and three Sikh Marine recruits filed suit to be able to serve with their articles of faith. This included a request for the recruits to attend Marine recruit training while maintaining their turbans and beards, which was prohibited in their initial limited religious accommodations. ADL, the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, and Interfaith Alliance filed a motion to participate as amicus curiae in support of the…
At issue in this case is the right of the Thai Meditation Association of Alabama (TMAA) to offer meditation services on property it owns in Mobile, Alabama. TMAA has faced repeated obstacles in its effort to build its facility even though the property is located in a zoning district that encourages religious uses. The brief — filed in coalition with the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, the ACLU, Muslim Advocates, the Orthodox Union, the Sikh American Legal Defense and…
This case involves a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the coach had done for eight years prior. The lower courts repeatedly…
At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to seek a religious exemption from a New York State anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ+ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not required by the Free Exercise Clause. Furthermore, New York’s public accommodations law does not coerce participation in religious activity. Finally,…
At issue in this case is a free exercise challenge to a Maine secondary school tuition assistance program. To provide for high school education in over half of the State’s school districts that do not have public secondary schools, Maine pays for students to attend public or private schools which provide secular education, including religiously affiliated schools that do not indoctrinate religion. The lawsuit was brought by parents seeking to send their children to religious schools. ADL…
At issue in this case is a private religious school’s Free Exercise clause challenge to a State of Michigan COVID-19 order requiring all persons who are at least five years old to wear face masks whenever they are in a shared space with someone outside their household, including both public and private schools. The brief asserts that in the context of a national pandemic that has taken the lives of 543,000 Americans, including more than 16,900 Michigan residents, the order is fully…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a broad exemption from California coronavirus public-health orders that restrict indoor religious gatherings to the same extent or more favorably than similarly situated secular gatherings. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL explains that the history of the Free Exercise Clause demonstrates it was never intended to require religious exemptions from laws that protect public health or safety. Rather,…
At issue in this case is a church and member of the clergy invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a broad exemption from California coronavirus public-health orders that restrict indoor religious gatherings to the same extent or more favorably than similarly situated secular gatherings. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL explains that the history of the Free Exercise Clause demonstrates it was never intended to require religious exemptions from laws that protect public…
At issue in this case is clergy and congregants from several churches invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from California coronavirus public-health orders that restrict indoor religious gatherings to the same extent or more favorably than similarly situated secular gatherings. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL explains that the history of the Free Exercise Clause demonstrates it was never intended to require religious exemptions from laws that protect…
At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not authorized by the Free Exercise Clause and prohibited by the Establishment Clause. Furthermore, the sought exemption would undermine the state law’s prohibitions on religious discrimination…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a New Mexico coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to twenty-five percent of building capacity, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Colorado coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to the lesser of fifty people (one hundred for large houses of worship) or fifty-percent capacity per room, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is…
This case involves a second appeal by a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the Coach had done for eight years prior. The Court…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause and Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act (ILRFRA) to seek a full exemption from a State coronavirus public-health order that equally limits similarly situated religious and secular communal gatherings to 10 people or less. In rejecting these claims, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards and does not violate the ILRFRA because it is the best way to…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Maine coronavirus public-health order that equally limits religious and secular communal gatherings to 50 people or less. In rejecting this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards. Furthermore, the sought exemption is not a permissible religious accommodation. It would violate the Establishment Clause by favoring the…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses to seek a full exemption from a Maryland coronavirus stay-at-home order equally limiting religious and secular communal gatherings to 50% of facility capacity. In rejecting these claims, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards. Furthermore, the sought exemption is not a permissible religious accommodation. It would violate the…