I just saw this news piece, http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2014/08/25/catholic-workers-ordered-to-attend-jehovah%E2%80%99s-witness-services#.U_uee_ldV8E
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling that workers at a home for the disabled must attend a Jehovah’s Witness worship service with patients who wish to attend.
In 2009, California instructed San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center to have staff escort a Jehovah's Witness patient to services, but two Catholic employees objected and sued on the grounds that their faith requires they only attend Catholic services.
Brad Dacus, founder of Pacific Justice Institute, says it's an interesting case.
“We have the rights of employees under Title 7, which requires reasonable accommodation for the sincerely held religious beliefs of employees,” he says. “In this case, arguably that would mean not requiring these particular employees to have to sit in and attend a Jehovah’s Witness church service.”
The attorney says employers should do everything they can to meet employees’ faith needs, but also cannot forget the needs of the disabled in this situation. The Ninth Circuit says the Catholic employees can be forced to attend the Jehovah’s Witness services, but Dacus says the court doesn't fully recognize how those workers’ beliefs will be compromised if they are made to attend.
“If a public school said We're just going to have an entire class of students sit in a church service - just in an observatory capacity without having to participate - I don't think there's a judge in the country that wouldn't strike that down as unconstitutional,” he tells OneNewsNow.
This doesn't make any sense. I can see them being forced to drop off the disabled person at the kingdomhall. Unless the news is spinning it different, why would somebody be forced to sit in on the service as well?
Talk about cruel and unusual punishment lol.