Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) used the principle of religious neutrality to overturn a decision penalizing a shop owner under discrimination laws for refusing to design a cake for a same-sex wedding.
Anti-Discrimination Laws
This is a list of First Amendment cases involving discrimination laws and policies.
Laws and policies established to protect individuals from discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, age and religion can present the question of how to balance competing rights to free speech and expression while also protecting the rights of certain groups to live and work in an environment free from discrimination.
In Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69 (1984), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and held that a law firm was subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in deciding whether to promote an associate to partner. Title VII prohibits discrimination
In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. ___ (2023), the Supreme Court held, in a 6-3 decision, that a website designer had a First Amendment free speech right to refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. This decision reversed the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis,
In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., 575 U.S. ____ (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employer could be liable under civil rights law for refusing to hire an applicant to avoid accommodating a religious practice even though the potential employee had not informed the employer that she wore