Adriana Alvarez v. Texas Workforce Commission

Although Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against an employer “on the basis of religion,” 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e2(a)(1), (2), which identifies the meaning of religion “religion includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.” This prolonged case began when Texas Workforce Commission’s (“TWC”) personnel disqualified unemployment benefits, and it is seeking a chargeback of unemployment benefits that Adriana Alvarez had already received. One year ago, in Groff u. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023), this Court reinforced that an employer suffers an “undue hardship” in accommodating an employee’s religion exercise whenever doing so would require the employer “to bear more than a de minimis cost.” Id. § 2000e(j). The questions presented are:

1. Whether TWC’s employees may avail themselves of sovereign immunity as a bar to a claim for damages under Title VII, the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment?

2. Whether the Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity can deprive any person of 'kie'k property, without due process of law; or deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, as required by the Fourteenth Amendment?

3. Whether this Court should dismiss the morethan-de-minimis-cost procedure for refusing Title VII religious accommodation as reinforced in Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023)?