Reasonable Accommodation

In an important case, the U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified generally the costs or expenditures an employer would have to incur before it can show that a particular accommodation of religious beliefs constitutes undue hardship under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  In a unanimous opinion, the Court held that an employer denying a

In a significant case involving an employer’s obligation to transfer a disabled employee, who cannot perform the essential functions of the employee’s current position, to an open, vacant position, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s policy of hiring the most qualified candidate to fill vacant positions need not be ignored by

The results of three pending cases could greatly increase the amount of employment-related litigation Texas employers may face in 2023 and beyond.  In Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering what the lengths to which an employer must go to accommodate an employee’s sincerely

Several provisions of the $1.7 trillion, 4,400-page Omnibus spending bill passed by Congress and expected to be signed by the President, are additional employment protections for pregnant women.  Today we cover the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA” or “Act”) that requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to women with limitations caused by pregnancy, childbirth,

Texas courts routinely look to and take guidance from federal law when evaluating claims under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. The TCHRA is the Texas state law that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability (and other status) and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.
Continue Reading Texas Court Holds Request for Reasonable Accommodation is not Protected Activity

In Credeur v. State of Louisiana, an attorney working as a litigator with the attorney general’s office experienced health issues related to a kidney transplant. The Office of the Attorney General allowed Credeur to work from home temporarily while she was recovering from her transplant surgery. After several months of telecommuting, the Office of

This past term saw the Supreme Court issue four opinions in labor and employment cases.  In case you missed them, the following is a brief summary of the holdings from those cases.

EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Holding that Title VII’s prohibition against refusing to hire an applicant to avoid accommodating a religious practice that

Last week I wrote about a religious discrimination case where an employer snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This week, we have a Fifth Circuit opinion where the court took away an employer’s victory in another religious discrimination case and sent the case back to the trial court

The U.S. Supreme Court just concluded its 2013-14 term and is already creating a buzz over the cases it will hear when it convenes again this October.  Today, the Court agreed to hear a case involving whether and to what extent pregnant employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for conditions related to their pregnancy.  The case