8th Circuit rejects Christian workers appeal over 3M COVID vaccine rule – Maryland Daily Record

MINNEAPOLIS The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a religious bias suit brought by a Christian 3M employee who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Affirming the district courts ruling, the court concluded that there was no causal connection between the employees Christianity and 3Ms conduct.

Thomas Clobes worked at a 3M manufacturing plant in Hutchinson. 3M mandated that salaried employees get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Dec. 8, 2021, or face termination. Clobes, a practicing Christian, stated that he had a religious objection to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, Clobes stated that the reason he objected was between God the Almighty Father and [him]self. Clobes also generally objected to the COVID-19 vaccine, due to a family tragedy where his infant grandchild died two days after receiving vaccines given to children in her age.

In November 2021, Clobes submitted a religious accommodation request to 3M. In lieu of vaccination, he asked instead to socially distance, wear a mask when unable to be six feet from others, clean his work area, and stay home if ill.

The request was not immediately granted. 3M asked Clobes follow-up questions, including why the COVID-19 vaccine was different from other vaccines that Clobes had received and how his religious beliefs specifically prevented him from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

As he was not vaccinated, Clobes was required to wear a mask. The mask was a precaution that Clobes himself offered in his accommodation request. He also noted how, for a few months, there were company-wide emails and loudspeaker announcements about the vaccination requirement. Clobes was warned that he could be terminated if he did not company with company policy.

A month after the religious accommodation request was submitted, 3M emailed Clobes, explaining that the Federal Contractor Mandate was enjoined and that the vaccine requirement was lifted. Regardless, Clobes filed suit against 3M, claiming religious discrimination and hostile work environment under Title VII and the MHRA.

In his complaint, Clobes stated that he had continual fear of termination for declining to get the vaccine. He also reported that he felt that his Christian beliefs were on trial and he had to justify not taking the vaccine. He characterizes these experiences as emotionally traumatizing, Judge Bobby Shepherd noted.

Clobes asserted that his workplace was decidedly hostile and anxiety-inducing and that the coerciveness of 3Ms actions causes distress and harms the psychological well-being of an employee.

Lets imagine a scenario where someone goes to work for a company, they work there a long time, they get pregnant, the company says, We dont want people who are mothers, so youre going to have to get an abortion to stay working here, said Robert Barnes, of Barnes Law LLP, who represented Clobes. And they tell you that every single day for days, weeks, and months. Ultimately, they dont punish you and fire you for not getting the abortion, but you have to live through that mental torture for months.

There nothing in this complaint that comes even close to alleging a severe and pervasive workplace thats replete with ridicule and intimidation, said Patrick Martin, office managing shareholder of Ogletree & Deakins, who represented 3M. There is nothing that would show that somebody might objectively see this as severe and pervasive.

Shepherd agreed that Clobes was only able to articulate his subjective feelings. This conduct is not objectively intimidating, offensive, or hostile, Shepherd wrote. Clobes fails to meaningfully develop an argument as to why 3Ms conduct was objectively intimidating, offensive, or hostile.

Nor did the court agree with Clobes that 3Ms vaccination policy was related to his Christianity.

Simply put, nothing in Clobess complaint attempts to connect 3Ms motivation in enacting its vaccination policy to Clobess Christianity, Shepherd stated. Far from suggesting conduct motivated by discriminatory animus, these allegations strongly suggest that 3M implemented a neutral policy unconnected to Clobess Christianity. In other words, no facts alleged in Clobess complaint suggest that his Christianity was a but for cause of 3Ms conduct.

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8th Circuit rejects Christian workers appeal over 3M COVID vaccine rule - Maryland Daily Record