9th Circuit Upholds Limits On Public Employee Religious Expression

Yesterday, in Berry v. Department of Social Services, (9th Cir., May 1, 2006), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Tehama (California) County Department of Social Services' rules that limited religious expression by its employees. Daniel Berry, an evangelical Christian who worked for the Department, believed that he should share his faith and, where appropriate, pray with other Christians. He challenged the Departmental rules, but the court found that the agency had struck an appropriate balance between the employee's free exercise rights and its concern that the agency not be seen as endorsing a particular religion. The court said in part:

While it allowed employees to discuss religion among themselves, it avoided the shoals of the Establishment Clause by forbidding them from discussing religion with its clients. Similarly, the Department allowed employees to display religious items, except where their viewing by the Department's clients might imply endorsement thus evading the reef of the Establishment Clause. The Department did not prohibit its employees from holding prayer meetings in the common break room or outside, but declined to open the Red Bluff Room to employee social or religious meetings as such use might convert the conference room into a public forum. We conclude that these restrictions were reasonable and the Department's reasons for imposing them outweigh any resulting curtailment of Mr. Berry's rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The case was discussed in an Associated Press report yesterday.