In Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), the Supreme Court held that an employer is required to allow a religious accommodation for an employee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, the Court defined an “undue hardship” as anything that imposes “more than a de minimis cost” for the employer — a very low standard that has made it difficult over the years…
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Lonnie Billard, a former drama teacher and substitute teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School, was fired after posting on Facebook that he was planning to marry a man. ADL joined 47 organizations committed to gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights in an amicus brief supporting Mr. Billard. The brief, filed before the Fourth Circuit, was led by the National Women’s Law Center. It points out that Title VII provides necessary workplace civil rights protections for nearly one million employees…
This case alleges a pattern of discriminatory conduct by the Town of Clarkstown, in coordination with a group called Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhood (“CUPON”), to block the purchase of property by an Orthodox Jewish school – Ateres Bais Yaakov Academy (“ABY”) — by any means necessary. ADL’s proposed brief, prepared by the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in support of ABY, sets forth a history of the Religious Land Use and…
This case involves a challenge to Indiana’s 2022 sports ban targeting transgender girls and young women. The ACLU brought the case on behalf of A.M., a 10-year-old transgender girl who was forced to leave her elementary school softball team as a result of the ban. A.M. won a preliminary injunction finding that the ban likely violates Title IX, and Indiana appealed. ADL joined 58 other organizations in an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center in support of A.M. The…
At issue in this case is a business that seeks a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding-related services to LGBTQ+ couples. It, however, does not currently sell such services and there is no allegation that the business violated the law. ADL joined 7 other civil rights organizations in an amicus brief led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law arguing that upholding public accommodation laws is essential to ensuring that…
The mission of ADL is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.
At issue in this case is whether a school district may deny a student club official recognition if the club conditioned students’ full participation on signing a “Statement of Faith and Purity” that discriminated against LGBTQ+ students in violation of the district’s nondiscrimination policy. ADL joined a coalition of 22 organizations in an amicus brief in support of the school district and its nondiscrimination policy that prohibits officially recognized student…
South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” and “disorderly conduct” laws are vague, punitive, and intensely subjective laws that have been vehicles for channeling students — disproportionately BIPOC students and students with disabilities — into the criminal legal system. Plaintiffs are public-school students in South Carolina challenging these laws. ADL joined 23 other civil rights and public interest organizations in an amicus brief led by the National…
This case seeks to cure a decades-old injustice arising from a criminal trial in the early 1980s that was tainted by antisemitism. In ADL’s letter amicus brief supporting defendant Barry Jacobson’s motion for post-conviction relief, ADL explained how one of the most prominent and persistent stereotypes about Jews is that they “are greedy and avaricious, hoping to make themselves rich by any means possible.” ADL argued that the prosecution’s suggestion at trial…
At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to seek a religious exemption from a New York State anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ+ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not required by the Free Exercise Clause. Furthermore, New York’s public accommodations law does not coerce participation in religious activity. Finally,…
This case involves Equal Protection Clause and Title IX challenges to a county school board policy that prohibits transgender students from using the restroom which conforms to their gender identity. ADL and 50 other organizations joined an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center opposing this policy. ADL had joined a previous brief in this case in 2019, resulting in a favorable decision from an 11th Circuit panel. In an en banc hearing, the full 11th Circuit is revisiting…
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) has a policy that allows K-12 athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. This inclusive policy and others like it help protect the safety and wellbeing of transgender youth, and help ensure that all women and girls can access the well-documented benefits of playing sports. In an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center, ADL joined 34 other organizations in supporting CIAC against this…
The Orange County, Florida Human Rights Ordinance provides broader anti-discrimination protections than the State’s Human Rights Law, including prohibitions on sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. At issue in this case is whether the State law preempts these broader protections. ADL joined a brief asserting that the Florida Constitution and long-standing State Supreme Court rulings permit county and municipal governments to adopt more comprehensive anti…
Mississippi passed a law in 2018 that bars abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. ADL joined with the National Women’s Law Center and 71 other organizations on an amicus brief urging that the law — an unmistakable challenge to Roe v. Wade — be found unconstitutional. The brief focuses on due process and explains that the devastating impact of allowing a pre-viability abortion ban to stand — or overturning the right to abortion entirely …
At issue in this case is the application of the First Amendment’s ministerial employee exception to an art teacher at a religious elementary school. Grounded in constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, the exception exempts religious institutions from all employment discrimination laws for employees deemed to be ministerial. A lower state court ruled that the teacher, who performed no “vital religious duties,” could move forward with her pregnancy and marital…
Alabama only allows people to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses if they undergo surgical procedures and submit proof to the state, meaning that transgender people who do not want, cannot afford, or are medically unable to have the required surgeries are prevented from having a license that accurately reflects their gender. Carrying a license with an inaccurate gender marker puts transgender people — especially Black and brown transgender women — at a…
In March 2019, the United States Senior Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) filed a class action lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation, Inc. (USSF), claiming violations of the Equal Pay Act and of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 alleging unequal pay and working conditions as compared to the Men’s National Team (USMNT) in the District Court of Central California. For years, the U.S. Soccer Federation had been paying USWNT players less than their counterparts on…
This case involves a legal challenge to Massachusetts’s anti-bullying statute — namely, that the “emotional harm” prong of the definition of bullying in M.G.L. c. 71, section 37O(a) is unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. ADL has been a key proponent of anti-bullying legislation in Massachusetts and accordingly joined an amicus brief, prepared by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), to emphasize the vital importance of the emotional harm prong of the…
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in language minority groups. In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that two Arizona election provisions — one that prohibits third-party ballot collection and another that prohibits the counting of out-of-precinct votes — violated Section 2 because of their discriminatory impact on communities of color. The…
At issue in this case is the extent to which K-12 schools can regulate student speech that occurs off-campus. ADL joined a brief prepared by the National Women’s Law Center, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, urging the Court to ensure that when it comes to off-campus speech, schools can regulate student bullying, harassment, or threats, but not speech that is merely perceived to substantially disrupt school activities. The…