Court sides with fired driver who feared 'mark of the devil'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 3:47 pm, Wednesday, November 29, 2017

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — A fired Pennsylvania school bus driver who believed being fingerprinted would leave "the mark of the devil" on her has won a court battle to receive unemployment benefits.

Bonnie Kaite lost her job with Altoona Student Transportation Inc. in 2015 after telling the company being fingerprinted for a background check could bar her from heaven.

The state unemployment board denied her benefits last year, saying the belief was personal, not religious. It said her belief was based on her father's interpretation of the Bible, not the teachings of a religious organization.

PennLive.com reports a Commonwealth Court panel overturned that decision Wednesday. The panel found Kaite's beliefs were sincerely held religious convictions, even if she practiced them only at home.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Court-sides-with-fired-driver-who-feared-mark-of-12392938.php

---

Bus Driver Fired for Refusing 'Mark of the Devil' in Background Check Can Sue Employer
A school bus driver fired after refusing to be fingerprinted for a background check because she believed it would mean she was accepting the "mark of the devil" can sue her employer for religious discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

By P.J. Dannunzio | October 31, 2017

A school bus driver fired after refusing to be fingerprinted for a background check because she believed it would mean she was accepting the “mark of the devil” can sue her employer for religious discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania denied Altoona Student Transportation’s request to toss Bonnie F. Kaite’s civil rights case. Citing the Book of Revelation in the Bible, Kaite, who worked at the company from 2001 until 2015, refused the background check on grounds that accepting the mark of the devil would deny her entry into heaven.

More:
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/sites/thelegalintelligencer/2017/10/31/bus-driver-fired-for-refusing-mark-of-the-devil-in-background-check-can-sue-employer/?slreturn=20171029184500

[Turbineguy]

1. There are times when it is wiser

to pay somebody to stay away from there job. This might be one of them.

[Moostache]

2. So....we can make up ANYTHING now and be good?

"mark of the devil" huh? And this judge did not require any physical or practical PROOF of this be demonstrated before ruling? Is he also a fucking pastor in his spare time?

So can I get disability to avoid driving in the rain because I am afraid of the wrath of Zeus?
How about a waiver from hunting licenses because Artemis does not permit such human contrivance?
Maybe I can apply for a tax deduction because I have it on good authority that Ares is against current military practices?

This society deserves the coming hell hole it will die off in...

[sandensea]

4. Anything - as long as the Scaliar/Gorsuck faction of court would agree with it.

[MarcA]

19. These federalists/regency law school types don't think that way

if you are fired for abandoning your company vehicle to keep
from freezing to death. They are after all so "right to life".

[sandensea]

20. True - although in recent years they've embraced their inner televangelist.

Anything for the fascist cause.

[7962]

16. These days it seems anything goes. And you're right, it'll continue.

the land of the perpetually offended & insulted

Apparently Brown U is letting students identify as any race they "feel" like.

[marble falls]

3. As a Lutheran I think that decision is wrong. Can't believe a lawfirm would take that on for 35%...

of six months at no more than $300/week, let alone pro bono.

These are truly interesting times.

[charliea]

5. Well I agree with you

My question to the OP is, do we know if this judge is a newly installed Trumpkin, or is the judge a pastor of yet another religious sect that says their beliefs are the one truth (don't bother me with science!)

[marble falls]

6. Well now she's going to sue the bus company for religious discrimination. Now we know why the ....

sharks represented her.

[sadiegirl]

7. We are becoming the US Taliban.

[House of Roberts]

18. 'We' aren't

but 'they' are.

[Angry Dragon]

8. you have the Anti-Christ as acting president so it all makes sense

I thought the mark of the beast was on the forehead??

[yallerdawg]

9. Alabama resident says:

"Oh, boy! I can't wait until YOU have an open Senate seat up there!"

[bucolic_frolic]

10. I've met people who treat illness not by seeing a doctor

but by whacking it with a Bible.

Yeah, it was in Pennsylvania too.

[Xipe Totec]

11. Note that this scam only works if your'e born in the US

Because anyone trying to come to this country from abroad has to be fingerprinted and photographed at some point...

Unless this establishes precedent and now terrorists coming into the country can avoid being fingerprinted on religious grounds....

[Solly Mack]

12. SMH

[AllaN01Bear]

13. as i said before , where do they get this felgercarbe? easy stomach

[ProudLib72]

14. Forget about courts. This woman is in serious need of a mental health professional.

I have lost all confidence in our legal system. What a sham to take this obviously deranged woman's case instead of calling in the shrink.

[keithbvadu2]

15. Funny thing - that supposed 'mark of the devil' is part of her. The ink transfers the mark from her

Funny thing - that supposed 'mark of the devil' is part of her. The ink transfers the mark from her to the paper/screen; not to her

[murielm99]

23. When I was fingerprinted for a background check,

they did not put ink on my fingers. I had to roll my fingers on a glass screen and they took pictures of my fingerprints with some sort of fingerprinting device. This was for a teaching certificate. I don't think most places use ink these days.

[paleotn]

17. Sounds to me like she needs a good shrink....

and it's probably a good thing she's not driving a school bus. The stupidity of humans never ceases to amaze me.

[TomSlick]

21. I sincerely do not understand the decision.

I can strain and accept the idea that someone with a sincerely held religious belief ought not be required to be finger printed (except upon arrest). However, if a job requires finger printing and a background check, that person is put to an election between the job and the religious beliefs.

[Thor_MN]

22. Sounds to me that someone is afraid of the background check...

Somebody has skeletons in their closet.