Release from Thomas More Society
Daniel Snyder v. Arconic, Corp., et. al
(April 8, 2024 – St. Louis, Missouri) Fired metalworker Daniel Snyder’s attorneys from Thomas More Society will present oral arguments on April 9, 2024, before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, against both the Biden Administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the global aluminum manufacturing giant Arconic. Snyder, a devout Christian, was summarily fired by Arconic in June 2021 for making a single religious comment at work, objecting to his employer’s use of the rainbow–a traditional Christian symbol–to promote “Pride Month.” Arconic claims Snyder’s comment violated its “Diversity Policy.”
“The Biden Administration is seeking to enshrine in federal law that big companies’ ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) policies trump the religious liberty rights of individual American workers,” stated Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation. “Massive companies like Arconic are using their DEI policies to threaten people of faith merely because they express their sincere religious beliefs–here, the Biden Administration has come into court to defend religious discrimination committed by a large powerful company against a single Christian union worker.”
Snyder, then 62-years-old, was terminated in June 2021 from his lead operator position at Arconic’s lightweight metal engineering and manufacturing facility in Davenport, Iowa. In response to a company survey seeking employee feedback, Snyder expressed his objection to Arconic’s use of the rainbow flag to promote “Gay Pride Month.” He briefly stated his Biblical belief that using the rainbow in this manner is an offense “to God,” as the rainbow “is not meant to be a sign for sexual gender.”
However, Arconic notified Snyder that his comment offended a fellow employee, and Snyder was then summarily suspended and terminated, allegedly for violating the company’s “Diversity Policy.”
“The fact the Biden Administration’s EEOC is coming to court to argue against Mr. Snyder’s religious rights–on the specious legal theory that he should lose precisely because of his mistake–is a betrayal of the agency’s primary responsibility to be a ‘public advocate for employee rights,’ as the Supreme Court recently put it, and reeks of partisan bullying,” said Michael McHale, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel.
“Ironically,” noted McHale, “Arconic is the one refusing to respect the diversity of Mr. Snyder’s beliefs or to acknowledge that he was offended by the company’s choice to co-opt the rainbow to promote ideologies that conflict with the Biblical understanding of marriage and sexuality. And Arconic’s outright refusal to acknowledge that he was just trying to answer a company survey, rather than impose his views on others, was illegal.”
Arconic’s refusal to reasonably accommodate Snyder’s religious beliefs–as required by federal law–and rejection of a request for fair settlement, brought about the lawsuit. A denial of the federal religious discrimination complaint by a district court in Iowa resulted in the appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Snyder’s appeal asks the court to reverse the earlier district court decision.
Read the Appeal, in Daniel Snyder v. Arconic Corp. and Arconic Davenport, LLC, filed November 21, 2023, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, here.