First Liberty
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear our case on behalf of
Fire Chief Ron Hittle, who was fired for attending a leadership
conference that took place at a church.
While we are disappointed with today's decision, the
Court's response provided hope for future cases involving
religious discrimination in the workplace.
You see, the Court didn't just deny the case outright. In a rare
move, two justices attached a dissent arguing that the Court should
have taken Chief Hittle's case.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch wrote that this was an
opportunity to revisit a confusing legal doctrine that's been in
place for over 50 years. They noted that the framework created in the
1973 case McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green has caused
"chaos" for lower courts evaluating employment
discrimination cases.
First Liberty Senior Counsel Stephanie Taub explains why there's
a silver lining in this response from the Court:
Hittle Denied | First Liberty Live!
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Attaching a dissent to a denial is incredibly rare. The Supreme Court
receives about 7,000 to 8,000 requests each year. It typically agrees
to hear only about 60 cases or less, less than one percent of all
requests. Most appeals are denied outright, without any comment or
explanation.
The fact that two justices made a point to write a dissent is highly
significant. Dissenting opinions like this one are often the first
step toward getting a harmful precedent overturned.
Sometimes, it takes a few cases to lay the groundwork before the
Supreme Court decides to take up an important issue. Our Coach Kennedy
and Faithful Carrier cases are great examples.
In Coach Kennedy's case, the Court declined to hear his first
appeal. But-similar to what happened today-four justices
attached a rare statement explaining the legal issues that needed
clarification before the Court could hear the case.
After the Kennedy case had worked its way back through the federal
courts, the Supreme Court not only agreed to the case, but delivered a
landmark decision that now protects religious expression for millions
of Americans.
In our Faithful Carrier case involving postal worker Gerald Groff, the
Court had also declined to take up at least three similar cases that
had asked to reevaluate the workplace religious accommodation test
before it decided to hear Groff v. DeJoy.
And the result? First Liberty won a unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court
victory in favor of employees of faith needing religious
accommodations at work.
As you can see, the Court's denial to accept this case
doesn't end the battle for religious employees to be able to
express their faith in the workplace.
Far from it.
We have a powerful dissent in our hands that we can use as we continue
to fight for all people of faith whose religious liberty is threatened
while on the job.
For now, please continue to pray for Chief Hittle.
Today marks the end of a lengthy legal battle. Ron fought valiantly to
protect religious liberty rights so that fewer people would experience
religious discrimination at work. We honor him for his perseverance
and willingness to take a stand for faith.
Click below if you would like to express your support and say thank
you to Fire Chief Hittle:
SEND CHIEF HITTLE A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT >>
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You truly are the driving force behind our work. Thanks to your
generous support, we can provide free legal representation to
Americans like Chief Hittle. Please give to First Liberty today and
help us continue leading the fight to stop religious discrimination in
the workplace.
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