Snyder v. Arconic

Arconic, a large aluminum manufacturer, summarily fired Daniel Snyder for a single religious comment objecting to the use of the rainbow to promote “Pride Month”—because the company claimed it violated its “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” or DEI, policy.

Thomas More Society has stepped in to represent Daniel against this illegal instance of religious discrimination and retaliation. “Arconic’s actions clearly violated Mr. Snyder’s right to be free from employment discrimination based on religion,” said Michael McHale, Senior Counsel for Thomas More Society.

In June 2021, many Arconic employees, including Daniel, received an email inviting employees to respond to a company “Engagement Survey,” an anonymous survey requesting employee feedback. On the same day, an article was posted on Arconic’s “intranet,” known as “Arconnect,” nearly identical in appearance to the email, about the anonymous engagement survey. On the website, Daniel noticed a rainbow flag promoting “Pride Month.” During a night shift, Daniel found his way to the website article where he clicked a link, which he believed to be the same as the one found in the email regarding Arconic’s anonymous survey. He typed into a comment box, “Its a abomination to God. Rainbow is not meant to be displayed as a sign for sexual gender.”

This comment—clearly an expression of religious belief—was actually posted on the Arconic “intranet,” rather than part of an anonymous survey. An Arconic manager saw Daniel’s comment early in the morning. It was quickly removed. Arconic soon summarily fired Daniel. Later that month, Daniel attended a “grievance hearing” before company representatives. When he told them that he believed his response was anonymous at the time, several of them laughed out loud at him, to his face—publicly humiliating him.

Arconic utterly ignored that Daniel’s comment was based on his sincerely held religious beliefs. For Daniel, the rainbow is a sign of the Covenant between God and man, given to Noah after the Great Flood. Daniel’s comment was a restatement of Genesis 9:13-16 and stands with the mainstream Christian teaching that the rainbow should not be used to promote ideologies contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

We are seeking to vindicate Daniel Snyder’s religious rights against Arconic’s weaponized “Diversity Policy” and blatant religious discrimination in the workplace.