Dixon v. The Hallmark Cos., No. 10-10047
Religious Discrimination Employment Action
In Dixon v. The Hallmark Cos., No. 10-10047, an action alleging claims of religious discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate religious beliefs in violation of Title VII, and retaliation and housing discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants in part where plaintiffs called attention to no statutory or case law that could reasonably be believed to prohibit a private employer from keeping its own workplace free of religious references. However, the court vacated in part where, drawing inferences in favor of plaintiffs, as was required at this stage, a reasonable jury could find that plaintiff's supervisor's alleged comment constituted direct evidence of religious discrimination.
As the court wrote: "Mary Sharon and Daniel Dixon appeal the district court's order granting summary judgment to their former employer, Hallmark Management, Inc., on their claims of religious discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate religious beliefs in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., and retaliation and housing discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 ("FHA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3604(b), 3606, 3617."
Related Resources
- Read the Eleventh Circuit's Decision in Dixon v. The Hallmark Cos., No. 10-10047