Short Circuit 398 | Religious Fact Checks

“Religion” and “fact checks” don’t normally go together. But an employer did so when some employees tried to obtain a religious accommodation from a COVID vaccine requirement. Matt Liles of IJ explains that the employer didn’t exactly “fact check” religion itself, but tried to point out that other religious leaders were OK with the vaccine and so should the employees. This all ends up in federal court under Title VII where the Sixth Circuit has to fix some errors in the district court and straighten out how Title VII works. The court also hints that the way to deal with religious accommodations isn’t to use “fact checks.” Then IJ’s Christian Lansinger brings us to the Eight Circuit where 3M—famous for Scotch tape and Post-its—was fighting with the IRS over how much money it owed via its Brazilian subsidiary. The fight revolved around an IRS regulation and how much deference to give the agency in interpreting a Congressional statute. That all changed last year at the Supreme Court with the overturning of the Chevron doctrine. How does the IRS do in this brave new world? Not well, it turns out.

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Bilyeu v. UT-Battelle

3M v. Commissioner

Loper Bright Enters. V. Raimondo

IJ’s IRS and tax preparers case