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Ms. Kalzer practices employment and education law with an emphasis on defending complex litigation for communities of faith, non-profits, schools and private employers.
The Washington State Supreme Court today announced its decision that Washington employers with 8 or more employees can be sued under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.060.120) for failing to offer reasonable accommodations to their employees religious beliefs, Kumar v. Gate Gourmet, Inc.
Today the very sharply divided US Supreme Court approved a small town’s practice of inviting ministers and other faith leaders to provide opening prayers prior to beginning a town meeting, even though the prayer leaders were overwhelmingly Christian (four non Christians led prayer over a period of nine years). The 5-4 decision found the prayers […]
U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Chen v. Major League Baseball, a class action asserting wage rights for volunteers at the MLB All Star Fan Fest.
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision today in US v. Quality Stores, confirming that severance payments made to involuntarily terminated employees are “wages” and subject to taxation under FICA.
One of the most frequent sources of questions we face deal with accommodating religious dress. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has just released informal guidelines to assist employers in meeting their legal obligations entitled Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities.
The Washington State Supreme Court issued an opinion today in Ockletree v. Franciscan Health Services affirming that exempting religious organizations from the Washington Law Against Discrimination does not violate Washington’s Constitution, which guarantees “absolute freedom” in matters of religion.
The United States Supreme Court granted a stay to the State of Utah as to implementing the decision of a federal judge who struck down Utah’s ban on same sex marriage (Herbert v. Kitchen). The granting of the stay means that same sex marriage will remain illegal in Utah as the matter runs up the lower court appeals process.
The public furor over the firing of an Eastside Catholic High School administrator emphasizes once again the complex interplay and separation between church and state. When considering the issue, keep several legal and Constitutional principles in mind.
Do for profit corporations have religious liberty rights under federal law and the US Constitution? The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear this issue by accepting certiori of Hobby Lobby v. Sebilius and several accompanying lower court decisions.
Although much of the NLRB agenda has been thrown into question with the general belief that the Supreme Court will void President Obama’s NLRB recess appointments and thus the decisions made thereunder, expect that the Board will promptly revisit all of those rulings and reinstate them.