Compliance Stuff

If you have a grooming policy based on safety factors (like no beards for firefighters), does that trump an employee’s request for a religious accommodation? Maybe not. A recent Third Circuit decision,  Smith v. City of Atlantic City, et al .,  addressed this issue and partially reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Atlantic City. The court revived a firefighter’s claims under the Free Exercise Clause and Title VII. The decision offers important guidance on how courts evaluate workplace grooming policies and employers’ obligations to accommodate religious beliefs. Burning Through the Facts Alexander Smith, a long-serving firefighter, served as the city’s only assigned air mask technician — a role that required him to maintain SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) units but not to enter hazardous environments. As a Christian, Smith requested that the city allow him to grow a beard as an accommodation to his sincerely held beliefs. The city’s gr...

  Last week’s decision by the   Third Circuit Court of Appeals ,   Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging LLC , stands as a reminder to employers to exercise caution in how they navigate accommodating employees with temporary medical conditions. After being diagnosed with a herniated disc, the plaintiff’s chiropractor recommended that his employer allow him to work light-duty for 30 days, which the company originally approved . But the company then fired the plaintiff after he declined to take a truck driving assignment on the basis that taking that assignment would have inflamed his back injury. The District Court rejected the plaintiff’s claim under the  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) , finding his back pain was not a “disability” under the ADA because it was temporary and non-chronic impairment . Reversing and remanding to the trial court for further proceedings, the Third Circuit unanimously held on September 4, 2024 that the t rial court applied an incorr...

On July 24, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction seeking to bar enforcement of New Jersey’s Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights Law (the “Law”) . The Circuit Court found that the Law does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from enacting measures that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce. The Law, which took full effect on August 5, 2023, provides comprehensive protections for certain temporary workers in New Jersey. Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights The Law applies to each temporary laborer who is employed by a covered temporary help firm who either: (1) has been assigned by the firm to work in a designated classification placement within New Jersey; or (2) has been assigned by the firm to work in a designated classification outside of New Jersey, but who has his or her primary residence in New Jersey. Among its provisions, the Law includes requirements for reco...