Seventh Circuit Takes On Religious Discrimination

The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer in a religious discrimination case involving a teacher who refused to call transgender students by their chosen names.

Prior to the start of the 2017–2018 school year, officials in the Brownsburg Community School Corporation became aware that several transgender students were enrolled as freshmen. After research, discussion with employees and several meetings, the district adopted a policy that required teachers to call all students by the names registered in the school's official student database.

John M. Kluge, hired in August 2014 as the sole music and orchestra teacher at the high school, objected on religious grounds to using the first names of transgender students to the extent that he deemed those names not consistent with their sex recorded at birth.