Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School

**What happened:** A teacher at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School was fired after she became disabled and tried to return to work. The teacher had requested accommodations for her disability, but the school terminated her employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the school on the teacher's behalf, claiming the firing violated disability discrimination laws and that the school retaliated against her for requesting help with her disability. **What the court decided:** The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's decision that had favored the church. The appeals court found there were important factual questions that still needed to be answered about whether the school illegally discriminated against the teacher because of her disability and whether they fired her in retaliation for asking for workplace accommodations. **Why this matters for workers:** This case shows that even religious employers cannot automatically claim immunity from disability discrimination laws. Workers at religious organizations may still have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act when requesting reasonable accommodations. The ruling reinforces that employees who ask for disability accommodations should be protected from retaliation, regardless of whether their employer is a religious institution.