Catherwood LibraryILR School

Recently, a decision by a federal appeals court to dismiss a case regarding a school's transgender name-and-pronoun-use policy has added layers of uncertainty around religious freedom and the rights of LGBTQ workers' rights. This dismissal was justified on the basis that allowing the teacher to be excused from the school's pronoun and preferred name policy would cause undue hardship on the school system given its legitimate interest in the mental health of its students. Simultaneously, there has been an uptick in religious-based claims against companies for their workplace policies about transgender workers since the 2020 Supreme Court decision, which granted LGBTQ workers with federal protection from discrimination. Additionally, the EEOC's guidance on outlining violations of Title VII for LGBTQ workers was blocked by a federal judge, which has left employers on their own in evaluating what would be considered discriminatory. However, a new legal standard might be on the horizon if the Supreme Court heightens the requirements for rejecting religious accommodation requests.