Sergeant Cardell Bright worked for the jail in St. James Parish, Louisiana. When Bright was hired in April 2015, he had a medical problem with his bowels, was recovering from rectal surgery, and was diabetic. Bright’s diabetes is sensitive to stress, which causes low blood sugar and, ultimately diarrhea. When Bright experiences diarrhea, his rectum…
Larry Tate has worked for the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, in the Department of Corrections since 2007. In his third year as a correctional officer, Tate suffered a back injury. He returned to work under medical restrictions that required him to “avoid situations in which there is a significant chance of violence or conflict.”…
Sergeant Samuel Velez Ortiz worked for the Florida Department of Corrections. Velez Ortiz became a patient of Dr. Justin Davis, who is licensed by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) to recommend medical marijuana use. After consulting with Dr. Davis, Velez Ortiz sought and obtained a valid medical marijuana-use registration card from the DOH based…
Jesse LeBlanc served as a police officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota from 2012 to 2018. The Department uses a “Panama Schedule,” where officers work in teams of two. In a two-week period, two teams work only day shifts, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and two teams…
Salik Bey, Terrel Joseph, Steven Seymour, and Clyde Phillips (the Firefighters) are Black men who were or still are firefighters with the New York City Fire Department. Each of them suffers from a skin condition called Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), which results in persistent irritation and pain following shaving. The effects of shaving with PFB can…
Clinton Bloomfield was conditionally hired as a Newark police officer on July 31, 2017. Bloomfield’s employment was contingent upon his successful completion of training at the New Jersey State Police Academy. Bloomfield’s description of his religious beliefs is that he practices Judaism and is a member of The Church of God and Saints of Christ.…
From Arizona:Question: I was wondering if you had any case law specific to masks and religion or anything you could point me to that predates the pandemic? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Answer: I’m unaware of any cases on masks and religion. From analogous cases, I can predict how such a case would likely…
Brett Horvath was employed as a driver/pump operator by the City of Leander Fire Department in Texas. Horvath is an ordained Baptist minister and objects to vaccinations as a tenet of his religion. In 2014, two years after he was hired, the Department adopted an infection control plan that directed fire department personnel to receive…
Darrell Hartwell worked as a firefighter/EMT for Naval Support Activity (NSA) Panama City for more than 16 years, until he was fired by Chief James Elston. For his entire career at the Department, Hartwell had trouble getting to work on time. The firefighters at NSA Panama City worked alternating 24-hour shifts starting at 7:00 AM.…
Ashfaq Chaudhry is a Sunni Muslim and a correctional officer employed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), which has at all times been aware of Chaudhry’s religious beliefs. Sunni Muslims perform five prayers each day: before sunrise; between noon and 2:00 p.m.; an hour before sunset; right after sunset; and between 8:00…
