Source: Stinson

LLP Partners Bernadette Sargeant and Luke VanFleteren authored a Corporate Compliance Insights piece titled "For Some Workers, AI Resistance Is a Matter of Faith" that examines employees requesting religious accommodations to avoid workplace AI tools and the obligations such requests may trigger under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They explain that objections grounded in sincerely held religious beliefs can require employers to evaluate accommodation requests under the legal framework set by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy, and that employers must distinguish those protected religious beliefs from personal, political, or philosophical objections to AI use.

The authors provide practical guidance for employers to carefully evaluate each request, document decision-making, and avoid assuming an employee's beliefs align with broader religious doctrine. They note the novelty of AI affects Title VII undue-hardship analyses and recommend employers proactively document why specific AI tools are essential to certain roles and identify the business needs those tools support. The piece also summarizes the professional focuses of the authors—Sargeant as an investigator and litigator handling workplace and government investigations and regulatory compliance, and VanFleteren concentrating on labor and employment law and business litigation—and includes contact information and a standard disclaimer that past results do not guarantee future results.