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Requiring an Employee Provide a Social Security Number is NOT Religious Discrimination


Yeager v. FirstEnergy Generation Corp. - Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals


Facts:  Donald Yeager ("Yeager") applied for an internship with FirstEnergy but the company refused to hire him because Yeager refused to provide a social security number.  Yeager claimed that he had no social security number because he disclaimed and disavowed it on the account of his sincerely held religious beliefs and did not want the "mark of the beast."  Yeager subsequently filed a discrimination claim against FirstEnergy and alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4112. 

Holding:  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Yeager's could not proceed on his claim and subsequently upheld the lower court's dismissal.  Note that to establish a "prima facie case of religious discrimination", a party must prove that (1) he holds a sincere religious belief that conflicts with an employment requirement; (2) he has informed the employer about the conflicts; and (3) he was discharged or disciplined for failing to comply with the conflicting employment requirement. Once a party can establish its prima facie case, the employer has the burden to show it could not "reasonably accommodate" the religious beliefs without "undue hardship."  

However, the Court pointed out that Title VII does not require an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs if such an accommodation would violate a federal statute.  In this case, the IRS requires employers such as FirstEnergy collect and provide the social security number of their employees.  Yeager's failure to provide his social security number and then sue when he was not hired for the internship failed to amount to a valid religious discrimination claim.  

Judgment:  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Yeager's discrimination lawsuit on the grounds that while state and federal law generally require an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee's sincerely held religious beliefs, the employer need not provide an accommodation that violates a federal statute. 

The Takeaway:  I think this is one of the more cut and dry cases to have come along recently in regard to religious discrimination.  The Court got it right in this case; sincerely held religious beliefs must be accommodated by an employer (as long as it is not an undue hardship), but when those religious beliefs conflict with a federal statute, the employee is in the grease.  Had Yeager claimed a sincerely held religious belief that did not conflict with a federal statute, such as asking for prayer time while at work or requesting that he be allowed to grow a beard in accordance with his religion, that would likely have been a reasonable accommodation that the employer could have made.  Claiming he refused to have a social security number because it would cause him to have the "mark of the beast"...not so much. 

Majority Opinion Judge:  Per Curiam decision

Date:  January 28, 2015

Opinion:   cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/14-3693/14-3693-2015-01-28.pdf?ts=1422468052

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