Constitutional Religious Liberties and Employment Law. Recent Developments in the Law Affecting Religious Employers and Employees

Begins at Tue, Feb 23, 2021 12:00 PM
Ends at Tue, Feb 23, 2021 01:00 PM

Constitutional Religious Liberties and Employment Law. Recent developments in the law affecting religious employers and employees. This webinar will feature Daniel Blomberg, a nationally known attorney with the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty and Richard Dukes of PLAN member Turner Padget. Daniel is a renowned authority on the scope and reach of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses and has been counsel to many religious organizations in matters before various federal circuits and the United States Supreme Court. Rich regularly represents religious organizations is employment and general liability matters. Daniel and Rich will discuss recent decisions impacting churches faced with age, sex, gender, and gender identity claims as well as hostile work environment and other important cases implicating First Amendment liberties.

*Please note CLE is not available for on-demand webinars.

About the Speakers

Rich Dukes of Turner Padget is an experienced trial lawyer, mediator and e-discovery veteran.

He frequently represents religious organizations in employment and liability actions and has developed a broad base of knowledge regarding the particular protections arising from the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses. Additionally, Rich has served on the national panel counsel for a Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer and has advised businesses and individuals in a range of products liability, commercial litigation and employment matters. He is an experienced class action practitioner, and has defended a wide range of businesses, professionals, municipalities and utilities against class action claims.

Rich works tirelessly to assist individuals and businesses to resolve disputes in an efficient and cost effective way. Rich looks for creative paths to resolution, whether through early negotiation or aggressively defending against the claims. Rich is a leader in innovative use of technology to streamline information management in complex business litigation to facilitate effective collaboration among lawyers, offices and law firms across the state and nation. Every case requires teamwork and collaboration among professionals to achieve the client’s desired results. Rich has a proven track record of leadership and a team approach to achieve those ends.

Rich is committed to his community and to making the Charleston area a better place for all. He is actively involved in community, church, social and service organizations. In addition to having worked as a college professor prior to becoming a lawyer, Rich has performed lateral access disk replacement surgery in a client’s lab environment.

Daniel Blomberg is senior counsel for Becket. Before joining Becket, he clerked for Chief Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and served as litigation counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom. Daniel’s clients have included an international order of nuns, the world’s largest religious media organization, synagogues, members of the U.S. military, religious healthcare ministries, peaceful protestors, halfway houses, religious colleges, state legislators, homeless shelters, religious business owners, an art gallery, and churches. Daniel has represented a wide variety of faith groups, including Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Hindus, Hutterites, Jews, Lutherans, Mennonites, Muslims, Presbyterians, Russian Orthodox, and Sikhs. Cases on which he has served as counsel to a party include: Zubik v. Burwell, 136 S. Ct. 1557 (2016); Little Sisters of the Poor v. Sebelius, 134 S. Ct. 1022 (2014); Wheaton College v. Burwell, 134 S. Ct. 2806 (2014); Whole Woman’s Health v. Smith, 896 F.3d 362 (5th Cir. 2018); Lee v. Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, 903 F.3d 113 (3d Cir. 2018); Gagliardi v. TJCV, 889 F.3d 728 (11th Cir. 2018); Harvest Family Church v. FEMA, 2018 WL 386192 (5th Cir. 2018); Fratello v. Archdiocese of New York, 863 F.3d 190 (2d Cir. 2017); Eternal Word Television Network v. U.S. Dep’t of HHS, 756 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. 2014); Swagler v. Neighoff, 398 F. App’x 872 (4th Cir. 2010); Business Leaders in Christ v. University of Iowa, 360 F. Supp. 3d 885 (S.D. Iowa 2019); Yin v. Columbia International University, 335 F. Supp. 3d 803 (D.S.C. 2018); Singh v. Carter, 168 F. Supp. 3d 216 (D.D.C. 2016); Center for Inquiry v. Jones, No. 2007-CA-1358 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Jan. 20, 2016); Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Koskinen, 298 F.R.D. 385 (W.D. Wis. 2014); and Swagler v. Neighoff, 837 F. Supp. 509 (D. Md. 2011).

Daniel has been featured on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, Huffington Post Live, Fox News’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Fox Business’s Cavuto Coast to Coast, EWTN Nightly News, and CBS Evening News.

He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. While in law school, Daniel clerked for the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, served on a South Carolina Supreme Court task force, and interned with Judge J. Michelle Childs of the Circuit Court for the Fifth Judicial Circuit as a part of the Judicial Observation and Education program. He is a Blackstone Fellow. Daniel received his undergraduate degree from Columbia International University. He and his wife have five children and a noisy beagle.