Goal:
USD $500,000
Raised:
USD $339,391
Campaign funds will be received by Jordan Lefebvre
LBS
God is in control and His will will be done.
August 25th, 2023
The journey continues. Pray for us, pray for the staff at ORNL, and pray for UTB leadership.
October 22nd, 2022
It has been over a year since so many UTB employees were told that we had to make a choice: abandon our faith; ignore our doctors’ medical advice; or be placed on indefinite, unpaid leave that could last “until the end of the pandemic.” In that year, we have seen a lot of turmoil and a lot of turnover at UTB as our coworkers and friends have been forced out or quietly left. Unsurprisingly, approval rating for UTB leadership and employee morale are at an all-time low. But the hostility toward those of us who insisted that UTB respect our rights to reasonable accommodations of our faith under Title VII or our medical conditions under the ADA continues. Since our last update, UTB allowed an egregious data leak exposing sensitive, private information of those who sought exemptions from UTB’s COVID-19 vaccination policy (religious and medical) and those who filed EEOC charges of discrimination. Has UTB notified those whose private information was exposed? The EEOC continues to investigate, and the lawsuit to hold UTB accountable for its actions continues. We faithfully pursue God's will while continuing to fight for our freedoms under the ADA and Title VII. Please pray for UT-Battelle leadership. Please pray for us and if you are able to financially support this effort, please give.
June 23rd, 2022
“OneORNL.” Over the past several months,
that term has been used in a variety of contexts. For us, it has come to
define a group of highly skilled engineers, scientists, and operations
personnel working together for the good of our storied institute and the people
who have made it great – people who have simply but firmly asked UTB’s Senior
Leadership to refrain from discrimination based on their religious convictions
and medical conditions and who have held Senior Leadership accountable when
they did not. Discrimination charges continue to be filed with the EEOC,
and the EEOC continues to investigate the discriminatory effect of Senior
Leadership’s COVID-19 policies. In the meantime, Senior Leadership's
ratings have reached an all-time low, and it is evident that there remains a
substantial disconnect. Pray for them. Pray for us.
April 9th, 2022
Thank you to everyone who has supported us with your prayers and your giving. It means more to us than you may realize to know that we have the community behind us.
Although this blog has been quiet, the collateral damage continues to accumulate. As you may have heard, many of us were allowed to return to work after the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation protecting employees’ right to work without violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or risking their health. However, those who returned to work continue to hear warnings about 'ramifications' of our situation and statements that things may change "once we complete all the court proceedings."
While some colleagues are very happy to have us back, quietly taking us aside and applauding our strength. There are others who overtly discriminate, wanting lanyards to single out the unvaccinated. There seems to be a culture of fear being cultivated, designed to divide teams and further ostracize those who have quietly but firmly sought to preserve our right to practice both our profession and our faith. In the meantime, Senior Leadership has disregarded basic DOE COVID-19 workplace safety principles of masking and social distancing at certain gatherings on site at ORNL. At the same time that employees were on unpaid leave wondering how they would pay their bills, Senior Leadership was enjoying wine inches apart from one another. The callousness of this message is loud and clear.
Please continue to pray that UT-Battelle's Senior Leadership begins to understand the error in their ways, acknowledge the wrongs perpetrated upon their employees, and make every effort to bring healing to our great institution and this on-going situation.
December 13th, 2021
December 3rd, 2021
The U.S. EEOC process continues as we have filed charges of discrimination against UT-Battelle. We have been very blessed to have our charges assigned to the EEOC's regional systemic complaints coordinator in recognition that this kind of discrimination is systemic.
Additionally, we got some good news this week. A federal court in Kentucky enjoined the vaccine mandate for federal contractors. https://www.affirmativeactionlawadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/858/2021/11/1444000-1444487-https-ecf-kyed-uscourts-gov-doc1-08115877138.pdf
Then, the Tennessee Comptroller suspended any exemptions to Tennessee’s new law prohibiting vaccination mandates. Now, UT-Battelle is subject to Tennessee’s law prohibiting a private employer from implementing the vaccine mandate:https://comptroller.tn.gov/news/2021/12/1/tennessee-comptroller-s-office-suspends-covid-exemptions.html
In light of these developments, we have asked UT-Battelle to return us to work. But, so far, UT-Battelle has been silent. Time is not on our side, and we need your help to continue the legal challenge so that we can return to the jobs we love, without having to abandon what we believe. Please pray, and please give.
Through God we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ~ Romans 5:2-5
November 3rd, 2021
October 30th, 2021
October 29th, 2021
October 17th, 2021
October 7th, 2021
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