Dear Friend:

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Groff v. DeJoy, a case that invites the court’s ultra-conservative bloc to expand the religious accommodations employers must grant to workers, even if they place excessive burdens on coworkers or customers.

AU President and CEO Rachel Laser has been warning that this case is a wolf in sheep’s clothing – it’s part of religious extremists’ crusade to misuse religious freedom as a license for discrimination against LGBTQ people, women, people seeking reproductive health care, religious minorities and others.

Rachel has talked extensively in the media to spread the word about the threat this case poses. You can read more in The New York Times ([link removed]), USA Today ([link removed]), The Washington Post ([link removed]) and ABC News ([link removed]), among others.

Here's what she told The New York Times: "Religious freedom does not mean we can shift the burden of practicing our faith onto other people. Religious freedom has never been a license to harm others, in employment for any other facet of life."

Behind this litigation is First Liberty Institute – a powerful member of the billion-dollar Shadow Network of Christian Nationalists seeking to undermine church-state separation and force all of us to live by their narrow beliefs.

First Liberty represents a part-time, rural mail carrier who was hired to work flexible hours and cover weekend and holiday shifts at a 4-employee post office. His supervisors tried to accommodate his beliefs, but his job required him to work a flexible schedule. Over the course of 14 months, he refused to show up for 24 Sunday shifts, citing his religious beliefs. This led other employees – all church-going Christians – to resign, transfer, file grievances or cover for him while he watched NASCAR after church on Sundays. He quit and then sued USPS for discrimination, with First Liberty claiming that USPS didn’t do enough to accommodate him.

It’s important that we spread the word that First Liberty’s goal is not to protect marginalized religious minorities, but to secure more privilege for the majority religion, Christianity. Please share The New York Times ([link removed]) and these other news stories with your friends and families so more people know what’s really going on with this case.

Kind regards,

Andrew L. Seidel
VP of Strategic Communications

P.S. Want to learn more? You can watch my short video breakdown of this case here: [link removed]

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