Updated Religious Discrimination Guidance Slated for EEOC Vote

The EEOC will hold a meeting Jan. 15 to vote on finalizing contentious updates to its guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace.

The revisions would mark the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s first overhaul of its compliance manual’s religious bias section since 2008.

Guidance updates proposed in November include the incorporation of U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the last 13 years. However, the proposal didn’t explicitly state whether religious rights could outweigh workplace anti-bias laws, or vice versa. That issue has been closely watched and tested in the contexts of LGBT rights, heath care, public accommodations, and other scenarios. ...