Religious Accommodation Test Before the Supreme Court
This case law update was written by James P. Garay Heelan , an attorney at the law firm of Shaw Bransford & Roth, where since 2021 she has represented federal officials and employees in all aspects of federal personnel employment law. Ms. Grieshammer also advises federal agencies and employers on employment issues, such as proposed disciplinary actions and other employment-related litigation.
Fourth Circuit: MSPB Can't Adjudicate "Mixed Case" of EEO Claims, IRA Appeals
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) lacks jurisdiction to address equal employment opportunity (EEO) claims in “individual right of action” whistleblower reprisal appeals, the Fourth Circuit recently held.
McCray v. Biden: Federal Judge Denies Request to Enjoin the Vaccine Mandate
On December 7, 2021, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a federal employee’s motion for a temporary restraining order. The employee sought to enjoin enforcement of the President’s executive orders directing federal agencies to require COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees and contractors, and requested the court declare that the President’s orders were unlawful.
Fourth Circuit: No Disparate Impact Claims Under ADEA for Feds
A former Bureau of Prisons employee claimed that BOP’s fitness test disparately impacts those older than 40. On November 17, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that sovereign immunity protected the government from such a suit as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act’s (ADEA) federal sector provision did not provide for a disparate impact cause of action.