Before ending its most recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued several controversial opinions. Two of these decisions have particular relevance for employers.
The first opinion addressed whether the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina may consider an applicant’s race as a factor in their admission decisions. The Supreme Court held the race-based admissions programs before it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court’s decision, however, does not change any existing employment-related law and does not modify whether employers may take employment actions based on an employee’s or job applicant’s protected class status.
The second opinion clarified an employer’s obligation when considering an employee’s request for religious accommodation. The Supreme Court explained that an employer experiences an “undue hardship” in the context of an employee’s request for religious accommodation not when an employer shows a burden creates “more than a de minimis cost,” but when an employer shows “a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business.” As set forth below, employers should expect an upswing in religious discrimination claims.
I. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision Invalidating Race-Based University Admission Systems and the Potential Impact on Employers
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in two companion cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President...
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