ORNL UTBATTELLE EMPLOYEE DISCRIMINATION
Goal:
USD $500,000
Raised:
USD $339,391
Campaign funds will be received by Jordan Lefebvre
ORNL UTBATTELLE EMPLOYEE DISCRIMINATION
UT-Battelle mandated that all staff are required to receive COVID-19 vaccination by October 15th. Those who submitted medical or religious exemptions have been met with an unreasonable accommodation of unpaid leave or termination. No accommodation has been provided that would allow employees with exemptions to continue to work at ORNL.
UT-Battelle’s belligerent campaign against these employees not only jeopardizes the employees’ livelihood but also the physical and mental health of them and their families.
To combat the tyranny and infringement of the rights of these workers, we are requesting donations to help stop the actions of UT-Battelle/ORNL and show the illegality of these actions on the national stage.
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God is in control and His will will be done.
Updates
Update #11
August 25th, 2023
The journey continues. Pray for us, pray for the staff at ORNL, and pray for UTB leadership.
Update #11
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.
Update #10
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.
Update #9
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.
Update #7 - Still fighting
December 13th, 2021
Many of our group have returned to work. UT-Battelle has made it clear that this return is temporary, communicating they will 'react accordingly' if the law changes.
Some returned to work to discover that they were terminated while on unpaid leave. Their accounts were deleted and decades of correspondence gone. They are now dealing with 'new employee' actions.
It is important that we remember that this God-given respite only serves to keep us in our fight for civil liberties.
We ask for support as we continue our fight and attempt to begin undoing the damage to projects, missions, and relations. We ask for prayers for the senior leadership of UT-Battelle, that they might have a change of heart and understand the error in their ways. We ask for prayers for the storied institute that is Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that it will quickly progress out of these dark days.
We are truly grateful for the support and counsel received to date.
We are still in this fight and we need your help to continue the legal challenge so that we can permanently remain at the jobs we love, without having to abandon what we believe. Please pray, and please give.
Update #6
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
Update #5
November 3rd, 2021
Your prayers and donations have been critical in supporting our fight for civil liberties.
Some encouraging news is that the EEOC has taken particular interest in our case against UT-Battelle.
They have begun expediting the group of complaints against UT-Battelle.
We ask that you continue praying for those employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, impacted by UT-Battelle's unreasonable accommodation.
We ask that you also include UT-Battelle leadership in your prayers.
Update #4
October 30th, 2021
The Honorable Judge Atchley served his ruling Friday 10/29/2021 at 5:20pm.
His conclusion reads
"Much can be said about the way UT-Battelle handled their accommodation processes. For a company that prides itself on the importance of its national security mission and the role it plays in protecting the interests of the United States, it is difficult to view its treatment of employees as thoughtful or prudent. It is difficult to imagine that other accommodations aside from unpaid leave were not available for at least some individuals. But given the absence of irreparable harm, the Court need not examine whether such accommodations were reasonable. Neither is it the Court’s role to determine whether the company erred in issuing a one-size-fits-all accommodation for a group of employees with differing job duties and various time spent on campus. Regardless of the result of such findings, it is hard to fathom that conducting more individualized assessments was untenable for an entity with the resources of UT-Battelle. In this regard, Defendant’s decisions reflect a shocking indifference to some of its employees. These employees deserve better, as does everyone associated with UT-Battelle.
Ultimately, the law requires a finding of irreparable harm for an injunction, and this harm must be concrete and imminent—not speculative or uncertain. Plaintiffs’ testimony was moving, and the Court remains sympathetic to their situation. However, the harms identified by Plaintiffs are not yet 'irreparable.' Therefore, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction is hereby DENIED."
We were unable to demonstrate irreparable harm, however Judge Atchley's conclusion increases our confidence that UT-Battelle violated our rights. We will continue to fight for these rights through the litigation process.
Thank you everyone for your donations and prayers in support of our cause.
The road ahead of us will be long and expensive and it is your support that helps keep the fight going.
Update #3
October 29th, 2021
Thank you all for your continued prayers and donations.
We continue to fight for our civil liberties under the ADA and Title 7 for as long as we can.
Please continue to pray.
Update #2
October 17th, 2021
Also on Oct. 15, an emergency temporary restraining order hearing was presided over by the Honorable Judge Atchley. At 5pm, he issued his ruling, granting the TRO. “Defendants [UT-Battelle] are hereby ENJOINED from terminating or placing on indefinite unpaid leave any employee who has received a religious or medical accommodation until such time a preliminary injunction hearing can be held.”
The preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.
Tomorrow, Monday Oct. 18, we will return to ORNL to retrieve temporary badges, keys, and equipment.
Thank you everyone for your support. It is your prayers and donations which enable us to defend our rights.
Update #1
October 7th, 2021
I am truly humbled and overjoyed with everyone's generosity and prayers. The hope this gives our group is immeasurable. I am unable to control my emotions.
We will now be able to engage Mark Paoletta and the services of Schaerr Jaffe LLP to represent our case.
This initial amount supports the filing of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to pause UT-Battelle for 14 days.
In that time, we need to raise an estimated $200k to file a Preliminary Injunction to stop UT-Battelle.
https://www.schaerr-jaffe.com/mark-r-paoletta
Prayer Requests
Click the Pray button to let the campaign owner know you are praying for them.
- Pray for UT-Battelle leadership. That they may realize the damage they are doing to so many of us and change their policy and provide a reasonable accommodation.