# University of Kentucky Grants Humanist Employee Exemption From Personally Using AI at Work

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/43167
Published: 2026-10-29T04:24:46.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-29T04:24:46.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The accommodation covers Durman’s personal use of AI, but he must still attend meetings where the tools are used.

The University of Kentucky has exempted research administrator David Durman from personally using artificial intelligence at work, granting a humanist-belief accommodation while requiring him to keep up with his regular job duties.

Durman, 45, helps researchers apply for grants. He is a humanist who does not believe in God and sought recognition of his convictions as religious beliefs under federal law. He still must attend meetings where AI is used, and the accommodation does not change his responsibilities or performance standards.

His request followed the university’s move to require employees to use AI in their work. The University of Kentucky made Microsoft Copilot available campuswide on Jan. 29, 2026. Durman objected to handing his thinking to tools such as Teams Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT. He views independent thought about his work, ethics and treatment of others as part of his moral development.

With help from American Humanist Association lawyer Alexandria Huiskens, Durman sent a request to the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and met with university officials. Huiskens said the university concluded the change would not create an undue burden for Durman’s department and approved it quickly.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows employees to request changes to workplace requirements to accommodate religious beliefs. Employers may deny a request if the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. A 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy said employers must show that an accommodation would impose substantial costs in the context of the employer’s particular business.

Durman sought the American Humanist Association’s help after learning of a similar approval for Erin Maus, a 34-year-old software engineer in North Carolina. Maus applied in April, arguing that AI’s environmental and ethical concerns conflicted with her Unitarian Universalist beliefs. Her exemption was approved in mid-May. Maus said a recent coding task took about as long when she completed it by hand as it did for colleagues using AI.

Durman’s approval was voluntary and has not been tested in court. No court has ruled that humanist beliefs entitle workers to an AI-use exemption under Title VII.