On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Defends Former Indiana State Trooper's Right to Religious Expression in the Workplace
Institute Attorneys Appeal to the U. S. Court of Appeals on Behalf of Former Indiana State TrooperINDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to rehear the case of Benjamin Endres, a former Indiana state trooper who was fired for refusing to work on a riverboat casino because of his Christian beliefs. Endres has charged his state employer with violating his constitutional right to religious expression in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Endres appealed to the U.S. District Court after the Indiana Court of Appeals and a state commission narrowly upheld his termination on a split vote.
The Seventh Circuit issued a decision on June 27, 2003 affirming the dismissal and ruling that a police officer has no right to request accommodation of religious beliefs that conflict with a general order. In March 2000, the Indiana State Police gave Benjamin Endres a one-year assignment as a Gaming Commission Agent to the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Ind. Both before and after receiving the assignment, Endres informed his supervisors of his sincere religious objection to working on the riverboat as an agent of the Gaming Commission. He felt it would convey the message that he condoned the riverboat casino's activities, which include gambling and drinking. In a letter to his supervisors explaining his objections, Endres cited his "personal religious conviction against gambling" and his church's "strong position against it." He also expressed his "willingness to do virtually any job to avoid violating" his religious beliefs. Rutherford Institute legal staff contacted the superintendent of the Indiana state troopers and informed him of Endres' right to accommodation. Endres' pastor and former pastor also wrote to the superintendent explaining his and his church's religious beliefs and why they were in conflict with the casino assignment. Nevertheless, the state police department made no effort to accommodate Endres and fired him for insubordination after an administrative hearing.
"The Court of Appeals has essentially said that in no case can a religious public safety employee such as a police officer or firefighter establish that any request for accommodation of his or her beliefs could be reasonable," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "This position finds no support in the text, history or purpose of Title VII, and places religious public safety employees in a second-class status that requires them to check their religious faith at the door when they report to work."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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