A New York man who says he believes investing his money in fossil fuels violates his religious convictions is suing his employer for failing to provide oil- and gas-free retirement funds.
Proponents say the case could give workers across the country a legal right to sustainable 401(k) investments, opening a new legal front against climate change.
Andrew Hartley, a statistical science director at Thermo Fisher Scientific and a devout Christian, filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Buffalo, arguing his employer has “unlawfully forced him to compromise his religious values in order to receive the full benefits of his employment.”
The suit comes in the wake of Groff v. DeJoy, a 2023 Supreme Court decision that solidified protections for workers asking for religious accommodations, said Ben Segal, an attorney at the environmental organization ClientEarth, which is representing Hartley.
