Latest news with #religiousbeliefs
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Music teacher who rejected transgender students' chosen names can sue Indiana school
Aug 5 (Reuters) - A divided U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit against an Indiana school district by a former high school music teacher who objected to being required to call transgender students by their chosen names. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Brownsburg school district near Indianapolis did not show that letting John Kluge refer to the students only by last name impeded its mission to create a safe and inclusive learning environment. Tuesday's 2-1 decision by the Chicago-based appeals court reversed an April 2024 ruling by an Indianapolis trial judge, and returned the case to her. The appeals court ruled against Kluge in an earlier stage of the case in 2023. Lawyers for the school district did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kluge said his Christian religious beliefs barred him from using students' preferred names and pronouns. Brownsburg High School at first let him use last names, "like a sports coach" as he put it. But it stopped after students and other faculty complained, and told Kluge to use first names or be fired. Kluge decided to resign, and sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion or religious practices. Writing for Tuesday's majority, Circuit Judge Michael Brennan cited a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadened workplace protections for religious workers. Brennan said Brownsburg did not show that Kluge subjected transgender students to "increased stigmatization" solely by using last names, or that doing so caused emotional distress and imposed an undue hardship on its educational mission. "Brownsburg has not carried its burden to show undisputed facts of a serious disruption to the learning environment," wrote Brennan, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Donald Trump. Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner, an appointee of former Republican President George H.W. Bush, dissented, saying the school "did what it could" to accommodate Kluge's religious beliefs, rescinding the accommodation only when it proved harmful. She also accused the majority of improperly making jurors a "super-personnel department" that could second-guess employers' good-faith decision making. Kluge was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group. ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman said he looked forward to proving at trial that Brownsburg discriminated against Kluge by deciding his religious views "couldn't be tolerated."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Music teacher who rejected transgender students' chosen names can sue Indiana school
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A divided U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit against an Indiana school district by a former high school music teacher who objected to being required to call transgender students by their chosen names. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Brownsburg school district near Indianapolis did not show that letting John Kluge refer to the students only by last name impeded its mission to create a safe and inclusive learning environment. Tuesday's 2-1 decision by the Chicago-based appeals court reversed an April 2024 ruling by an Indianapolis trial judge, and returned the case to her. The appeals court ruled against Kluge in an earlier stage of the case in 2023. Lawyers for the school district did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kluge said his Christian religious beliefs barred him from using students' preferred names and pronouns. Brownsburg High School at first let him use last names, "like a sports coach" as he put it. But it stopped after students and other faculty complained, and told Kluge to use first names or be fired. Kluge decided to resign, and sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion or religious practices. Writing for Tuesday's majority, Circuit Judge Michael Brennan cited a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadened workplace protections for religious workers. Brennan said Brownsburg did not show that Kluge subjected transgender students to "increased stigmatization" solely by using last names, or that doing so caused emotional distress and imposed an undue hardship on its educational mission. "Brownsburg has not carried its burden to show undisputed facts of a serious disruption to the learning environment," wrote Brennan, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Donald Trump. Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner, an appointee of former Republican President George H.W. Bush, dissented, saying the school "did what it could" to accommodate Kluge's religious beliefs, rescinding the accommodation only when it proved harmful. She also accused the majority of improperly making jurors a "super-personnel department" that could second-guess employers' good-faith decision making. Kluge was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group. ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman said he looked forward to proving at trial that Brownsburg discriminated against Kluge by deciding his religious views "couldn't be tolerated." Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
01-08-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Mayo Clinic refused employee's COVID-19 vaccine exemption request, lawsuit says
A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday alleges the Mayo Clinic violated federal law when it refused a security guard's request to be exempt from getting the COVID-19 vaccine due to his religious beliefs. Mayo implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy around Oct. 13, 2021, which required all of its employees to receive the vaccine by Dec. 3, 2021, unless they received a medical or religious exemption, according to the court document. Anyone who didn't follow the policy would be terminated. On Nov. 1, 2021, the security guard, who was not named in the lawsuit, submitted an accommodation form to the clinic requesting that he be exempt from the policy, stating "his religious observance or practice conflicted with the COVID-19 vaccine," the complaint said. According to the lawsuit, the form stated he is a member of an Assemblies of God Church, which believes the vaccine contained ingredients that "were inconsistent with his religious belief," and he could not "put those ingredients in his body." The employee also believed that if he were to die from the vaccine, it would be considered suicide and undermine God's faith. The security guard said he would be willing to wear a mask and take COVID-19 tests if he were granted an exemption to the policy. On Nov. 21, 2021, Mayo denied the request, stating the employee didn't meet the criteria for a religious exemption, the lawsuit said. The security guard submitted a reconsideration request the next day. Mayo denied the reconsideration request on Dec. 1 and said he must get the vaccine or else he would be fired. The clinic issued a final written warning to the security guard on Dec. 3, saying he would be terminated if he did not receive the vaccine by January 2022. The EEOC alleges Mayo violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits companies from discriminating against employees based on religion. The federal agency is seeking monetary damages, though it's unclear how much. According to the lawsuit, the EEOC is also asking Mayo to implement policies and programs that "provide equal employment opportunities for religious persons." A spokesperson for Mayo Clinic said the company would not comment "due to pending litigation."
CBS News
24-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Federal investigation underway on Michigan health system over alleged religious rights violation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights said it has launched an investigation into a Michigan health system over an alleged religious beliefs violation. HHS says an organizational health care provider within the health system is accused of firing a medical professional after she requested accommodations from certain employment practices due to religious beliefs. Those practices included using a patient's preferred pronouns and assisting in "sex trait modification procedures," according to a news release. The department says the investigation will be conducted under conscience protection laws known as the Church Amendments and examine whether the health system has policies that comply with the amendments. The Church Amendments prohibit government or government-funded entities from discriminating against individuals, health care entities and providers because of religious beliefs and moral convictions. The department did not release the name of the health system under investigation. "OCR (Office for Civil Rights) is committed to enforcing Federal conscience laws in health care," said director Paula M. Stannard in a statement. "Health care workers should be able to practice both their professions and their faith." HHS claims the investigation is the third under President Trump's second term "to determine an entity's compliance with Federal laws that safeguard health care professionals' conscience rights in health care." The department opened investigations in April and May into two other hospitals in the United States. In 2019, HHS issued a finalized "Conscience Rule" that protected health care professionals who refused to provide care that violates their religious beliefs.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan couple, believing prayer would cure baby, gets at least 20 years for child's death
A religious Michigan couple were each sentenced to at least 20 years in prison for the murder of their baby girl after they chose prayer over urgent medical care. A jury found Joshua Piland, 44, and Rachel Piland, 38, guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse following a trial in March, ending an eight-year criminal case against the pair. On Wednesday, both were sentenced by a judge to 20 years to 45 years in prison for each charge, which will run concurrently. 'What you have done … has impacted multiple lives,' Judge James Jamo told Rachel Piland, as he read her sentence, reports the Lansing State Journal. Jamo said there was absolutely no reason to believe that the couple would make better decisions in the future, 'and that means there is a high risk and a need for protection of children.' Baby Abigail was only 61 hours old when she died of a buildup of bilirubin, a treatable condition commonly known as jaundice, at the family's Lansing home in February 2017. Less than a day after her birth, a midwife and her assistant told the mother to get to a hospital for immediate treatment, but the couple declined. Rebecca Kerr, Rachel Piland's mother, also advised her to seek medical care for the newborn, but they refused again base on an extreme religious doctrine. 'We believed (praying) was the best thing we could possibly do for her,' Rachel Piland testified at the trial. 'Even if she had died from some kind of struggle, we wouldn't have called 911.' After the baby was dead, the parents and friends prayed over the lifeless body. Authorities were not immediately contacted to report her death. It was only after a relative in California called police that officers responded to the house, about nine hours after Abigail died. The couple lost custody of their surviving children, two of whom needed the same treatment as Abigail. The state took them away for life-saving medical care and they survived. Lori Vallow Daybell is convicted in her second murder conspiracy case in Arizona Brother of Washington state man wanted for killing daughters speaks out
