Freedom Updates
Advocates in Action
Press Release | Santa Clara County Employees Sue County for Failing to Accommodate Their Religious Beliefs
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — Advocates for Faith and Freedom in conjunction with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz have filed suit in the Northern District of California on behalf of 33 current and former Santa Clara County employees against Santa Clara County for failing to accommodate their religious beliefs. Plaintiffs allege religious discrimination in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution, Title VII, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
In late 2021, the County began placing employees on indefinite, unpaid administrative leave if they could not get the COVID-19 vaccine due to their deeply held religious beliefs and were deemed by the County to be in ‘high-risk’ positions. Many positions were wrongly classified as high risk—such as the roofer who worked alone in the open air.
For those who did work in allegedly “high-risk” positions, they were not provided with reasonable accommodations to allow them to continue to work. And once the rest of the State permitted non-vaccinated individuals to return to work with accommodations that included masking and testing, Santa Clara County refused to consider such accommodations for the religiously exempt.
Furthermore, in a related case brought by Advocates, a federal judge has already found that the County’s policy which gave employees with a disability or medical contraindication exemption to the vaccine mandate likely operated “in a way that targets” religious practice and disadvantaged religious exemptions compared to secular exemptions.
For standing up for their religious beliefs, Plaintiffs were indefinitely deprived of their source of income, forcing many to face serious financial hardships. “Our firm is proud to represent these Plaintiffs, who were willing to give up everything, including livelihoods, health insurance and, in some cases, their houses and personal belongings, to remain faithful to their beliefs” says Sam Kane an attorney for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Discrimination and the needless harm to people because of their faith cannot be tolerated.”
###
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
Press Release | Advocates for Faith & Freedom Files Notice of Appeal to Vindicate Students’ Freedom of Speech
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 25, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — Today, Advocates for Faith & Freedom filed a formal notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Nielsen v. Ann Arbor Public Schools. The appeal challenges policies and actions of the Ann Arbor Public Schools and its employees that led to rejecting a student announcement of the Skyline Republican Club on the basis that it was political. Meanwhile, the school allowed other student clubs to use its public address system for student announcements advertising a voter guide and facilitated a political walk-out on school grounds—both promoting the opposing political viewpoint on the same issue. Plaintiffs had won a Temporary Restraining Order against Ann Arbor Public Schools after establishing that they were likely to succeed on their First and Fourteenth Amendment and Equal Access claims. The case, however, was later transferred to a different judge who ultimately ruled in favor of the Defendants. The notice of appeal initiates proceedings that could set precedent not only for students in Ann Arbor, Michigan but for students across the Sixth Circuit and the nation.
The case raises critical constitutional questions concerning free expression, equal access, and viewpoint neutrality in a public-school setting. By appealing, Plaintiffs seek reversal of the District Court’s ruling and clarification from the Sixth Circuit on the scope of the protections guaranteed to students and student organizations under federal law. “This case underscores the importance of ensuring that public schools, as government entities, adhere to constitutional standards and viewpoint neutrality,” says Erin Mersino, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “The First Amendment requires that schools allow differing viewpoints and political pluralism. And the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that students receive equal protection under the law. Silencing speech because it espouses a political viewpoint that does not align with one’s own is antithetical to our constitutional freedoms. Our appeal seeks to reaffirm those bedrock principles critical to a free society.”
###
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
Press Release | Advocates for Faith & Freedom Files U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Brief Defending Parental Rights
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 21, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — Advocates for Faith & Freedom, in partnership with NC Values Institute, filed an amicus brief this week in the United States Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, urging the Court to reverse a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals that undermines fundamental parental rights.
The case involves Massachusetts parents whose two children were secretly socially transitioned by school officials without their knowledge or consent. The parents were not only excluded from the decision but were actively misled by the school. The amicus brief argues that such actions amount to an unconstitutional and de facto termination of parental rights.
“This case represents one of the most egregious violations of parental rights we’ve seen to date,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “When schools deliberately withhold life-altering information about a child from parents, it doesn’t just violate trust — it violates the Constitution.”
The joint brief emphasizes that parental rights are among the oldest and most deeply rooted liberty interests protected by the U.S. Constitution. Citing long-standing Supreme Court precedent, the amici argue that parents, not schools, possess the primary authority to make medical, educational, and moral decisions for their children — including those involving gender identity.
Julianne Fleischer, Senior Legal Counsel at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, added, “The right of parents to raise their children according to their values — including religious and moral beliefs — is not negotiable. Public schools cannot operate as secret-keepers against families.”
The brief also highlights the dangerous precedent set by the Ludlow School Committee’s “Protocol,” which directs school personnel to affirm a child’s request to socially transition — including name and pronoun changes — while keeping parents in the dark. The amici argue that such a policy compels speech, undermines religious liberty, and fails to meet even the most basic constitutional standards, including the requirement of strict scrutiny when fundamental rights are at stake.
You can read the full amicus brief here.
###
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.