If you run people operations or manage a team, expect religious accommodation requests to draw more legal attention over the next two years. Employment attorneys say the federal regulator’s priorities now point toward those claims, and state agencies may not share them. Policies on restrooms, locker rooms and mandatory training are the likeliest flashpoints, so the time to review them is before a complaint arrives.
What happened
HR Dive reported that two sessions at the American Bar Association’s 2026 Labor & Employment Law conference pointed to a possible wave of religious discrimination claims. The speakers linked that view to the direction of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Chair Andrea Lucas.
Nonnie Shivers of Ogletree Deakins said religious claims will increasingly be used to challenge bathroom use, and that the next two years are when she expects a “predominant uptick.” She pointed to the EEOC decision in Selina S. v. Driscoll, which held that Title VII permits federal agencies to bar transgender workers from bathrooms matching their gender identity. The ruling covers federal workers, but Shivers said it could have implications for private employers.
In a second session, former EEOC commissioner Victoria Lipnic said employers may now need to ask whether a training created a hostile work environment for someone with a religious objection. She named EEOC v. Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast as a case to follow closely.
The personnel picture is still open. President Trump nominated Matthew Zandi to an open commissioner seat. If he is appointed, he would join Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio to form a Republican majority, which HR Dive says could add longevity to Lucas’s agenda. Catherine Eschbach, nominated as EEOC general counsel, had a hearing Tuesday and named protecting religious Americans as a priority. Neither nomination is confirmed.
Why it matters
The core problem is conflicting signals. Several states and Washington, D.C., protect LGBTQ+ workers. Bostock set a Title VII precedent on hiring and firing of LGBTQ+ individuals but did not address bathrooms, locker rooms or gendered spaces. Meanwhile the federal agency is moving a different way on those spaces. Shivers said the EEOC is likely to take up religious objections on bathrooms while state agencies will not, so an employer in several states could face opposite enforcement postures on the same policy.
The Driscoll reasoning adds weight. HR Dive reports the court said Title VII gives religion “most favored status” in the accommodation context, a standard it said does not extend to transgender workers. Our own reading is that this may make religious accommodation requests a more prominent route for employees who object to a workplace policy. That is analysis, not something the court stated.
How long the EEOC keeps this stance is unknown. The pending confirmations could shape it, but employers should not treat the current approach as guaranteed to last.
What it means for you
Start with process, not positions. Check that every manager knows how to receive a religious accommodation request, who decides, and how the decision is documented. A request handled informally or dismissed as a stretch is the kind of record that turns into a charge.
Then review the policies most likely to be tested. Map your restroom and locker room rules against the law in each state where you have staff, and ask counsel how the federal and state positions differ for each. If you run remote or distributed teams, the answer may vary by employee location.
Audit mandatory training too. If you buy compliance or culture modules from a vendor, ask whether they include an opt-out or alternative path for religious objections, and who handles those requests. Keep content records so you can show what was taught. Budget outside counsel time for these reviews, and brief HR business partners so they can separate a good-faith accommodation request from a policy dispute.
Hiring teams tracking how employment rules shift can follow demand and skills trends on our Tech Job Signal page and find more coverage in Careers and skills.
What to watch
- Whether the Senate confirms Matthew Zandi as commissioner and Catherine Eschbach as general counsel.
- The outcome of EEOC v. Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, which Lipnic said could set the tone for upcoming discrimination cases.
- Whether Driscoll-style reasoning is applied to private employers in bathroom and locker room disputes.
- Divergence between EEOC action and state agency enforcement on the same workplace policies.