The Summary
- I’m asking for help fighting back against the agenda within our higher education system that preaches diversity and inclusion, but shows no tolerance for Christianity and seeks to remove our American liberties and God-given rights.
- I was pressured and coerced to compromise on my Christian beliefs, and ultimately fired by Penn State for standing firm against requests that violated my religious beliefs as well as my Constitutional rights.
- I was told to submit my body to my employer in ways the violated my conscience, allegedly in order “to protect others;” I was a fully remote employee who had worked from home since 2014 (therefore I never came into contact with any of my co-workers).
- My request for a religious accommodation was denied.
- The HR policy that PSU had originally planned to use to enforce my termination was circumvented entirely in order to fast-track my firing.
- I was terminated 3 days before Penn State rescinded the very protocols they used to fire me.
- A PAHRC investigation found Penn State: a) Failed to Provide a Religious Accommodation b) Discharged me based on Religious Creed and c) Discharged me based on Retaliation
- I’ve hired an Attorney to represent my case and to bring awareness to these ongoing egregious acts that are not just a problem at Penn State, but at most of our American educational institutions. I fight not only for myself, but for our collective American religious freedoms and bodily autonomy,
- Please help me reach my goal of $7,500 which will help us file the initial paperwork in federal court.
Zack Rackovan was fired from Penn State University in March 2022. I had held the same (fully remote) position for 7+ years, with a stellar performance record, ironically, at the Justice & Safety Institute. Because of my Christian convictions and general belief in personal bodily autonomy, I refused to submit to the experimental covid jab and other illogical and illegal requests that my employer implemented as a requirement of employment in the fall of 2021, including masking and weekly testing.
Specifically for one example, I was required to take a test that stated directly on the label: for research only, not to be used for diagnosis. In order to take the test, I had to first sign an affidavit releasing all of my personal information (name, address, bank account information) to whomever the research facility wanted to sell it to, as well as relinquish my right to sue anyone for anything associated with the tests (which are proven to cause many various medical issues). Finally, I had to sign off on a statement saying I was not being coerced in any way. I couldn’t in good faith sign away any my rights, and certainly couldn’t validate a bold-faced lie purporting there was no coercion involved in the process when that’s entirely all that it would have been. When these additional concerns were brought up with my supervisor and HR representative, they told me they couldn’t speak to them, and also could not provide me with contact information for anyone who could; they told me if I wanted to keep my job, I had to comply.
I first notified Penn State that I had a Constitutional Right to Refuse an EUA product outright, and sent them the FDA documentation showing such. They responded that they would not respect this Constitutional right. I requested a statement from my supervisors explaining, legally, why they felt they were able to refuse me a documented Constitutional right; my requests were ignored. I then filed a request for a religious accommodation. The accommodation I requested was simple: allow me to continue working remotely, exactly the same way I had since 2014. My request was denied. I then submitted an appeal to the Penn State Affirmative Action Office, which was also denied. By law, they are required to provide proof of an undue hardship when rejecting an accommodation request, which they also refused to provide.
The only response I continued to receive was basically (not an exact quote), ‘Fall in line and do what we say, or we’re going to fire you.’ When I told my supervisors that this was my perception and feelings of their treatment toward me, I received silence or another variation of the statement above.
Three days before Penn State rescinded the anti-Christian protocols that I was standing up against, they circumvented the very HR78 policy they had enacted against me, and terminated me immediately. The HR78 policy is written for individuals failing to maintain an acceptable standard of performance, which did not apply to me to begin with. The policy also states that in a situation where acceptable standards of performance are not being met, there will be at least two Performance Improvement meetings, and a 30-day window given before termination would occur. My first (and only) Performance Improvement meeting was held on March 4. I was fired on March 18; this article was then released on the morning of March 21, rescinding the mandates I was fired for not submitting to. They gave me no response when I asked why my termination was fast-tracked.
A PAHRC (Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission) investigation found Penn State: a) Failed to Provide a Religious Accommodation b) Discharged me based on Religious Creed and c) Discharged me based on Retaliation.
I met with Penn State representatives within the confines of a PAHRC Conciliation meeting, with the desire to come to some sort of settlement agreement, but they were unapologetic and would not negotiate any type of settlement.
Because of my Christian religious beliefs, Penn State stripped away my ability to provide for my family by destroying nearly a decade of career advancement, right in the prime of my career. I’ll never be able to re-gain those years; starting over isn’t a feasible option. In addition to my monthly salary, I’ve lost job opportunities, the potential to advance along the career path I was on pre-Penn State, health insurance for my entire family, an incomparable PTO package, tuition discounts for my kids, and a guaranteed state pension retirement plan. There is no possible way for me to replace either the short-term or long-term financial security they stole away from me with their discriminatory decision.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21
The Plan
I’ve begun working with Attorney Greg Stapp of Stapp Law to fight against this act of outright religious discrimination and anti-American/ anti-Constitution sentiment. I am in a unique position being that I was a fully remote employee and that they fast-tracked my firing for no other apparent reason than I am Christian, but I know there are many others dealing with varying degrees of persecution at the hands of Penn State and other government agencies including educational institutions across the country. Despite these institutions publicly repeating a mantra of inclusion and affirmation of all creeds and belief systems, Christianity is not covered under their umbrella of acceptance. Logically, when these universities promote a “my body, my choice” philosophy, but attack our freedom to have ownership of our own bodies by threatening our livelihoods, we need to hold them accountable for this double-standard!
My desire is that Penn State would come to see the error of their ways, acknowledge their discriminatory double-standards, and realize the absence of logic and reason in their decision making protocols. My prayer is that my story and a win in court brings more awareness to these issues and more pressure on the board members and decision makers brings permanent change to a failing system.
Your donations to this legal fund will help me in my fight against the tyrannical authoritarianism of Penn State in federal court, and they and other organizations of the same ilk will re-think the way they treat their hard working employees, the way they view basic human rights, and the ways in which they ignore or re-interpret our American Constitutional freedoms!
My Prayer
Even if you can’t contribute, I love that GiveSendGo creates the opportunity to share prayers. The Lord hears us when we cry out against wickedness, and there is power in prayer. Please pray for provision for my family and persevering strength in this situation we find ourselves in, but even more importantly please join me in praying that through this battle and others in similar situations, that eyes would be opened and hearts would be softened to the Gospel at Penn State, at our other educational institutions, and those that have found themselves in positions of power and authority across our nation.
The Word of God says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I pray that there would not just be a righteous remnant that rises up in America, but just as Nineveh was spared after a move of national repentance, so too America would turn from our wickedness and call out to the King of Kings to forgive us and heal our land!
