It was a relatively quiet year on the class action front with respect to employment discrimination claims. However, the following developments in 2021 warrant mention.
In a rare class action involving a class of employers, a federal court in Texas granted in part the plaintiffs’ motion to certify classes in a suit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) seeking a religious exemption from Title VII antidiscrimination protections to the extent they prohibit discrimination based on LGBTQ status. The plaintiffs, citing the First Amendment and Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), seek a declaratory judgment that they have the right to hire and fire in accordance with their asserted sincerely held religious beliefs, including the right to set employment policies and to make adverse employment decisions based on sexual orientation and gender identity — notwithstanding the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, which held Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on LGBTQ status.
The employers contend there are questions of law common to the class members, including whether the RFRA compels the grant of exemptions to Bostock’s interpretation of Title VII, among others. The district court certified two classes of employers as to several of the asserted claims: (1) a “Religious Business-Type Employers” class including a private company that claims to operate its health...
The Presidency has refuted a claim by the Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement in the 2027 general election, Seyi Makinde, in which the latter alleged that...