Press release

Christian employee uses landmark Supreme Court ruling to sue employer over fossil fuel retirement funds

First-of-its-kind lawsuit invokes 2023 Supreme Court ruling and could open new legal path for fossil-free funds for workers nationwide

4 August 2026

BUFFALO, NY — A federal lawsuit filed today against Thermo Fisher Scientific could set a precedent that millions of American workers have a legal right to demand fossil-free retirement options that align with their religious or moral beliefs — using a landmark Supreme Court ruling that opens a new front in the fight against climate change.

The case is brought by Dr. Andrew Hartley, a statistical science director at Thermo Fisher and devout Christian based in East Aurora, New York.  Dr. Hartley believes that his faith requires him to care for and steward the earth, and that personally profiting from fossil fuel companies violates his religious obligations. Every equity investment option in Thermo Fisher's 401(k) plan holds significant positions in fossil fuel companies, leaving him unable to fully participate in his employer-sponsored retirement plan without compromising his beliefs.

The lawsuit invokes Groff v. DeJoy, a 2023 Supreme Court decision that significantly strengthened workers' rights to religious accommodation. Under the standard established in Groff, employers can deny an accommodation only if they demonstrate that granting the accommodation would impose genuine, substantial hardship on the business — not merely some inconvenience. Adding a single fossil-fuel-free fund to a 401(k) menu, Dr. Hartley argues, cannot clear that bar.

The case is filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in employment and requires employers to accommodate employees' sincerely held religious and moral beliefs.

If successful, the case could set a legal precedent that workers across the U.S. have a right to demand fossil-free retirement options that align with their beliefs.
In October 2024, Dr. Hartley submitted a written accommodation request to Thermo Fisher's human resources department, asking for the addition of a single fossil-fuel-free investment option to the company's 401(k) menu. Fossil-fuel-free funds are widely available, competitively priced, and already offered by many employer retirement plans. Dr. Hartley included a list of suitable options already in common use.

Thermo Fisher — a multinational corporation with a market capitalization of approximately $180 billion — publicly commits to net-zero emissions by 2050 and states its corporate mission as making the world "healthier, cleaner and safer." However, the company failed to provide an accommodation or any substantive response to Dr. Hartley. Follow-up emails sent in February, April, and November 2025 went unanswered. Dr. Hartley filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in December 2025 before bringing this action in federal court.

"I’ve spent years trying to align my life with my beliefs, but every month I would witness my employer investing the money I’ve earned in the very climate destruction I’ve committed my life to fighting,” said Dr. Hartley. “There are many Americans who also object to this but feel they have no power to change that. I’m hopeful that as a result of this lawsuit, they soon will.”

"Dr. Andrew Hartley is not unusual. Tens of millions of Americans — of many faiths — believe that protecting the planet is the defining moral obligation of our time, and the law is increasingly clear that conviction like his deserves the same protection as any other sincerely held belief,” said Ben Segal, attorney at ClientEarth, which is representing the plaintiff.

“The Supreme Court strengthened religious accommodation rights for every American worker, including the millions who see the destruction of our climate as a profound moral wrong. This case is the first to put that principle to the test, and a victory would give every worker in America the legal footing to demand the same,” Segal added.  

The complaint in Hartley v. Thermo Fisher Scientific was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Buffalo Division. 

Notes to editors:

• A copy of the complaint can be found here
• Groff v. DeJoy (2023): Gerald Groff is an evangelical Christian postal worker who refused to work Sundays on religious grounds and was disciplined by the United States Postal Service. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in his favor, holding that employers must accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so would impose a "substantial" burden on the business — a significantly higher bar than the previous "more than de minimis" standard that had governed religious accommodation cases for decades.
• ClientEarth is not aware of any prior case invoking Groff v. DeJoy — or Title VII more broadly — to seek fossil-free investment options in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
• Approximately $863 billion of American retirement savings is currently invested in fossil fuel companies through 401(k)s, pension funds, and similar employer-sponsored plans, according to analysis from fossilfreefunds.org. Most participants invest in whatever options their employer makes available, with little ability to opt out of fossil fuel exposure.
• A ruling in Dr. Hartley's favor could set a precedent that workers with sincere religious or moral objections to fossil fuel investment have a legal right to demand an alternative that align with their beliefs from their employer under Title VII. Any employee at any company nationwide who holds a comparable belief could cite it in support of their own accommodation request, potentially reshaping how retirement plans across the country are designed and what options employers feel obligated to offer.
• Title VII's religious accommodation protections extend beyond formal religious affiliation to cover sincerely held moral and ethical convictions held with the strength of traditional religious views. While Dr. Hartley is a devout, church-going Christian, workers do not need to belong to an organized religion to qualify for Title VII protections or to request an accommodation similar to Dr. Hartley’s.

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth is a non-profit organization that uses the law to create systemic change that protects the Earth for – and with – its inhabitants. ClientEarth USA is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that works in strategic partnership with ClientEarth Group, a UK-headquartered international group of entities.