June 2020 Church & State Magazine - June 2020

Ky. Firefighter Wins Right To Pursue Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

  Ky. Firefighter Wins Right To Pursue Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

A former firefighter in Bowling Green, Ky., will be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit claiming he was subjected to harassment due to his atheistic beliefs, thanks to a federal appeals court ruling.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Jeffrey Queen, who worked for the Bowling Green Fire Department from 2011-16. During his time with the department, Queen says he was forced to attend a Bible study and pressured to go to church.

Queen says that when he objected to the treatment, his colleagues ridiculed his beliefs and made racist, sexist and homophobic remarks, reported the Bowling Green Daily News. Queen says that when he brought the issue to Capt. Dustin Rockrohr in 2012, Rockrohr advised him to get another job.

City officials argued that they and the fire department were immune from Queen’s civil lawsuit, but the appeals court disagreed. The case will now go back to a lower court for trial.

Queen is being represented in court by Louisville attorneys Michele Henry and Aaron Bentley. Henry is a member of Americans United’s Board of Trustees.

BREAKING NEWS

Americans United & the National Women’s Law Center file suit to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans.

Abortion bans violate the separation of church and state. Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center—the leading experts in religious freedom and gender justice—have joined forces with thirteen clergy from six faith traditions to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans as unconstitutionally imposing one narrow religious doctrine on everyone.


Join the Fight and Donate Today