Several Christian organizations' fights for exemptions to workplace antidiscrimination laws have converged before the Fourth Circuit, giving the court an opportunity to establish a definitive position on the complicated legal tension between the rights of religious employers and LGBTQ+ workers.
The Fourth Circuit refused on Friday to revive a suit from a former AstraZeneca manager who said she was terminated for complaining that male colleagues were paid more, saying that her retaliation claims hinged on "speculation" and that the men she compared salaries with worked for a different division of the company.
Workers are likely to continue the trend of bringing lawsuits seeking pre- and post-shift compensation under state wage and hour statutes now that Illinois' high court has ruled that its law doesn't incorporate federal exemptions freeing employers from paying for such work, attorneys said.