News

Major Businesses That Could Cancel You Because of Your Faith

by Jorge Gomez • 5 min read

Radical ideologies appear to be infiltrating virtually every sphere of our lives—and the workplace is no exception. We’re witnessing more and more corporations going “woke,” and adopting policies that are said to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

But instead of equal opportunity for all, woke corporate culture encourages the opposite and often leads to religious discrimination. Religious Americans often are on the losing end of this unconscionable and illegal behavior. They’re the ones who are docked pay, prevented from advancing, retaliated against, and many times, fired outright.

If you’re a person of faith, you might be asking: Will I be next?

A new resource is available to help conservative and religious Americans navigate an increasingly hostile marketplace. The 1792 Exchange scores more than 1,000 companies on how likely they are to cancel, deny service or cut ties with consumers over their political or religious views. Each business is graded on whether it poses a low, medium or high risk.

So, which companies pose a high risk? Here are 10 with a record of targeting religious Americans:

You can view the grades of other companies by visiting the Spotlight Report: Corporate Bias Ratings.

It’s not surprising to find Alaska Airlines and CVS listed as high-risk. First Liberty is currently fighting in federal court against these companies for their unlawful actions against our clients:

• Lacey Smith and Marli Brown, two Christian flight attendants who asked questions about Alaska Airlines’ support for the troubling “Equality Act.” They were concerned about the impact the bill could have on religious freedom—a concern shared by millions of Americans. The airline disparaged their beliefs and fired them simply for asking questions.
• Robyn Strader, a highly credentialed nurse practitioner who worked at a CVS MinuteClinic. She requested a religious accommodation not to prescribe any medication that could intentionally end the development or life of an unborn child. The company, however, would not honor her request and fired her, in violation of federal law.

If corporate America is truly going to live up to its stated ideals of “diversity and inclusion,” it should do better in accommodating religious employees. Companies should understand that the workplace is not the “wokeplace.” They have a legal obligation not to discriminate against workers on the basis of religion.

Under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, companies cannot retaliate against employees because of their religious beliefs and practices. The law requires businesses to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of their employees when it does not pose an undue hardship on the employer. Additionally, the law provides that employers may not create a hostile work environment on the basis of religion and must protect employees from anti-religious harassment.

Defending religious liberty in the marketplace is a critical legal battlefront today. Americans should not be purged from the workforce simply because of their faith. It’s wrong and illegal. Our laws protect religious workers and business owners, such as our clients Aaron and Melissa Klein. Both have a right to live, work and do business in a manner that’s consistent with their religious convictions.

Bottom line: Religious discrimination is bad business. First Liberty will continue fighting to ensure that religious workers or business owners are not forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood.