In a case that pitted religious beliefs about photographs against the ramped up security concerns following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a federal judge has ruled that an oil refinery had no duty to accommodate a worker who refused on religious grounds to pose for a photo ID.
In her 22-page opinion in Cherry v. Sunoco Inc., U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that a 2002 federal law specifically mandated that all workers in port facilities carry photo ID, and that Sunoco had no power to waive that requirement.
