Brian Piscitelli v. GitLab, Inc.
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of Brian Piscitelli’s Title VII religious-discrimination and retaliation claims against his former employer, GitLab. The court held that the traditional Fourth Circuit four-part test, not the Tenth Circuit’s modified Shapolia test, governs such claims and that Piscitelli failed to plead protected activity necessary for retaliation.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
What prima-facie framework governs a Title VII religious-discrimination claim in which the employee asserts he was fired because his religious beliefs differed from those of his supervisor or employer?
Circuit Positions
Apply the traditional four-part Title VII disparate-treatment test for religious-discrimination claims.
Apply the Shapolia modified prima-facie test when the employee alleges termination due to differing religious beliefs.
Conflict Summary
The Fourth Circuit adheres to its traditional four-part disparate-treatment test (requiring a showing that the employer treated the plaintiff differently than similarly-situated employees because of religion), while the Tenth Circuit applies the "modified prima facie test" announced in Shapolia v. Los Alamos National Laboratory, which dispenses with comparator evidence and focuses on whether the termination clearly revolved around a difference in religious beliefs between the employee and the decision-maker.