EMPLOYMENT ISSUES UNIQUE TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESS EMPLOYEES

OVERVIEW

UPDATED MARCH 2020.

DON'T MISS OUR SHOCKING WATCHTOWER HISTORY PAGES.

WHAT DO YOU CALL AN EMPLOYER WHO THINKS THAT JEHOVAH'S WITNESS EMPLOYEES ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE? Answer: A "DEFENDANT" .

The purpose of this website is to bring together in one website much of the information scattered across the world wide web which relates to the many unique issues which Employers encounter when employing Jehovah's Witnesses. Recently, while working on a somewhat related research project, it occurred to us that we had not stumbled across a single webpage, much less website, which was dedicated to the "Non-JW Employer - Jehovah's Witness Employee" relationship.

Specifically, we have concentrated on gathering and posting "Real World" scenarios which are memorialized in official federal and state court documents, as well as in news media reports and other documented sources. When Employers want to educate themselves as to the pitfalls lurking in the "Real World", there is no substitute for actual court cases and lawsuits which describe real scenarios which led Jehovah's Witness Employees to sue their Employers. Currently, this website summarizes or discusses in varying degrees over 1300 Jehovah's Witnesses related cases and incidents -- including civil court cases, criminal court cases, threatened lawsuits, complaints filed with various governmental agencies, media reports, other miscellaneous memorializations, and historical background cases.

The goals and beneficiaries should be obvious. A better educated and more informed Employer is less likely to violate the civil rights of a Jehovah's Witness Employee, thus, is less likely to end up embroiled in a nasty lawsuit which will drain the Employer's time and money. The end result should be happy employees and happy employers, who each work together to make happy customers.

FEDERAL & STATE LAWS PROHIBIT RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

Religious discrimination occurs when an individual is treated differently at any point in the employment process because of their religion, religious beliefs, or religious practices; or lack thereof. An individual rejected for employment, or an employee who is fired, denied a promotion, denied a pay raise, denied a training opportunity, harassed or otherwise harmed in their employment because of their religion, religious beliefs, or religious practices may have suffered unlawful religious discrimination. Unlawful religious discrimination may also include an employer's denial of an employee's request for a change in a workplace rule or policy as an "accommodation" of the employee's religious beliefs and practices.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on religion. The federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII, and provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies. Covered are all private employers, state and local governments, and education institutions that employ 15 or more individuals. Also covered are private and public employment agencies and labor organizations.

Although federal law covers only employers with at least 15 employees, many states and even some cities and counties also have anti-discrimination laws that cover workplaces with fewer than 15 employees. Some of the state and local anti-discrimination laws may even be broader than federal law, or may even provide additional protections.

Employers not covered by federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws may also be subject to private civil lawsuits brought directly by an aggrieved individual on grounds such as "wrongful termination/discharge", etc.

SOME UNIQUE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BELIEFS & PRACTICES

PROSELYTIZING!!! Despite the fact that a Jehovah's Witness Employee will sue their Employer if the Employer or a Co-worker attempts to proselytize them, the WatchTower Society has for decades encouraged Jehovah's Witness Employees to proselytize their own co-workers and employers -- including publishing "witnessing tips" on how to do so COVERTLY in the workplace. The WatchTower Society has advised JW Employees to keep WatchTower literature at their work station, and to then leave that WatchTower literature out in the open in the hope that employers/co-workers will notice such and initiate inquiries that will give the JW Employee an excuse to "witness" to them. The WatchTower Society has further recommended that JW Employees openly read and display WatchTower literature during work breaks for the same reason. In March 2012, the members-only copy of the WatchTower Society's OUR KINGDOM SERVICE also recommended that door-to-door JW Proselytizers focus on visitations to local businesses -- specifically during business hours. The WatchTower Society not only recommended preaching and offering literature to the business owner, but also to employed managers and clerks. Unbelievably, the WatchTower Society even recommended that JW Proselytizers request that they be allowed to preach and offer literature to all of the business's other employees. If denied, it was recommended that JW Proselytizers request to leave WatchTower literature in employee breakrooms and customer waiting areas.

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS. The Jehovah's Witness Employee's belief that it is a SIN to celebrate New Years, President's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas, presents regular opportunities every few weeks for extremely embarrassing situations or even confrontations to occur where co-workers, customers, or others unwittingly do or say something which offends your Jehovah's Witness Employee, or vice versa.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS. The Jehovah's Witness Employee's belief that celebrating birthdays is a SIN can result in extremely embarrassing situations, with lingering results, in the foreseeable situations where a Jehovah's Witness Employee is approached by a group of well meaning co-workers wishing them a "Happy Birthday", or even singing to them "Happy Birthday", or even in the foreseeable situation where a Jehovah's Witness Employee is put in the embarrassing position of having to refuse to wish "Happy Birthday" or sing "Happy Birthday" to a co-worker, supervisor, employer, or customer.

AMERICAN FLAG & LOYALTY OATHS The Jehovah's Witness Employee's beliefs that the American Flag is a "false idol", and that saluting the Flag or reciting the Pledge are acts of "worship", can result in extremely embarrassing situations, with lingering results, in the foreseeable situation where a Jehovah's Witness Employee is approached by co-workers distributing American Flag stickers, lapel pins, or other similar patriotic items around the Independence Day holiday, or especially during emotional times of patriotic fervor like post-9/11. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society also teaches Jehovah's Witnesses that all human governments, including the United States of America, are active partners with Satan in his rebellion against GOD. Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to engage in any patriotic acts or activities, including signing or reciting "Loyalty Oaths". Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to vote. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to engage in politics. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to serve in the military, or work for employer's who service or supply the military. Any of these topics discussed during breaktime or casually brought up while working can give opportunity for your Jehovah's Witness Employee to be offended, or for the Jehovah's Witness Employees' response to offend co-workers or customers.

CONFIDENTIALITY RULES IGNORED!!! The Jehovah's Witness Employee's religious requirement to report any fellow Jehovah's Witness who is violating or has violated WatchTower rules can result in extremely serious legal consequences for an employer in the foreseeable situation where a Jehovah's Witness Employee who has job-related access to confidential medical, legal, business, or personal records discovers that a fellow Jehovah's Witness has done something prohibited by the Watch Tower Society, and the JW Employee then discloses that confidential information to WatchTower leaders. Because this Jehovah's Witness practice may lead to employers being sued by the aggrieved Jehovah's Witness, this WatchTower practice has been addressed in newspaper articles, and articles published in magazines such as the American Bar Association's ABA Journal, the insurance industry magazine, Business Insurance, and the health care industry magazine, Medical Economics.

NO BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS!!! The Jehovah's Witness Employee's practice of refusing to permit medically necessary blood transfusions for not only themselves, but also their spouse and children, can result in the employer paying higher Workers Compensation or Life & Health insurance premiums, and maybe even having their policies nonrenewed, in the foreseeable situation where a Jehovah's Witness Employee suffers blood loss in a work-related injury, or where the Employee's spouse or children suffer blood loss, and then what would normally be a survivable scenario turns into a fatality.

SHUNNING!!! The Jehovah's Witness Employee's practice of "shunning" (treating people as if they are already dead) persons who have resigned from or who were disfellowshiped (excommunicated) from the WatchTower religion can result in extremely embarrassing situations, with lingering results, in the foreseeable situation where a Jehovah's Witness Employee must service a customer or cooperate with a co-worker who is a former Jehovah's Witness. There are a handful of anecdotal stories posted on discussion boards, etc. in which former JWs relate their being shunned by a JW Employee while shopping at supermarkets, "Mart" stores, etc. JW Employees have no legal right to shun customers or co-workers while performing their duties as an employee, and when reported doing so, practically every Employer will respond positively to complaints from customers or co-workers.

These and many other Jehovah's Witness beliefs and practices are discussed more thoroughly in this website. Click on upper left-hand Menu.

WHY JEHOVAH'S WITNESS EMPLOYEES REQUIRE SPECIAL ATTENTION

Probably more than any other religious group in the United States, Jehovah's Witnesses have a number of religious beliefs and practices which can lead to confrontations with their Employers, with their co-workers, with customers, and with others with whom they interact on the job. That fact does not mean that the civil rights of a Jehovah's Witness Employee are any less inviolate than the civil rights of other employees. It simply means that Employers will probably have to pay a little more attention to those employees who are Jehovah's Witnesses.

Despite their low numbers (one to four million in the United States - depending whether counting "active", "inactive", "unofficial", "former", etc.), Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the most geographically diverse religious groups in the United States. Consider that there are approximately 3000 counties in the United States and approximately 14,000 Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States. While members of larger denominations are often concentrated in certain regions of the country and absent from others, Jehovah's Witnesses are everywhere - just in smaller quantities. Thus, nearly every American employer will likely interact with a Jehovah's Witness Employee sometime during their business career.

LITIGATION IS IN THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BLOODSTREAM

FIRST JEHOVAH'S WITNESS ARRESTED DURING FIELD SERVICE

FIRST FEMALE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS IMPRISONED FOR SELLING WATCHTOWER LITERATURE

(Try finding any mention of either of the two above historic court cases in any WatchTower Society literature!!!)

The founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Pastor Charles Taze Russell, was charged with Assault and Battery in Pittsburgh, in 1903. Maria Russell also criminally charged Pastor Pastor with non-support in 1903. Russell was later arrested again in 1914, in New York, on criminal charges of violating a Sunday closure law and a public decency law. On another occasion, a warrant was issued for Pastor Russell's arrest over his refusal to pay court-ordered alimony and his estranged wife's attorney and court fees. Shortly before his death, Pastor Russell was detained by Canadian immigration officials and deported.

Pastor Charles Taze Russell also was secretly involved in many different for-profit businesses other than just his "religion business". Charles Taze Russell owned and/or operated oil wells, gas wells, coal mines, a SILVER MINE, a GOLD MINE, kaolin stripmining and manufacturing, brick manufacturing, money loans, asphalt manufacturing and sales, piano-organ retailing, chemical products manufacturing and sales, automobile manufacturing, silent film companies, phonograph manufacturing and sales, cemeteries, commercial properties speculation, residential rental properties, and occasionally printing, publishing, and clothing retailing. Click here to read the FINANCIAL BIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL.

WATCHTOWER FINANCIAL TRIVIA: 1. Despite the fact that the WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY teaches that the GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES is one of GOD's main Enemies on this planet, and that one of the first things that Jesus Christ will do when He eventually "returns" will be to ATTACK and DESTROY the U.S. GOVERNMENT and the U.S. MILITARY, the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY annually applies for and receives FEDERAL FARM SUBSIDIES. From 1995 until 2012, the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY collected approximately $450,000.00 from the U.S. GOVERNMENT in exchange for its promise NOT to grow corn, wheat, soybeans, and oats. (Pre-1995 and post-2012 figures not available.) 2. The WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY and two of its affiliates also have applied for and received from the New York Community Trust the following total grant amounts for the year shown: 2003: $1,000,000.00 2004: $350,000.00 2005: $596,088.00 2007: $500,000.00 2008: $1,175,000.00 2010: $250,000.00 2012: $710,350.00 3. For decades, each and every year, the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY has held as many as 400 "District Conventions" (recently renamed "Regional Conventions") across the United States. Unknown to rank-and-file Jehovah's Witnesses is the FACT that the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY has long solicited FINANCIAL SPONSORSHIP of not only these 400 District/Regional Conventions, but also the thousands of smaller Circuit Assemblies, from the local City and County GOVERNMENTS, and their affiliated agencies, which host such conventions. The WATCHTOWER SOCIETY has collected what has probably amounted to TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS over the decades. For example, just from 2007 through 2015, the CITY OF RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA and two affiliated governmental agencies have given the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY more than $2,000,000.00 in exchange for the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY agreeing to hold only two of the 400 annual "District Conventions" in Raleigh. Jehovah's Witnesses attending District Conventions and Circuit Assemblies are/were never told of the GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP, much less the amount of the financial subsidies. Instead, Convention and Assembly attendees are told that the expenses of the Convention or Assembly must be met solely from their own voluntary contributions. During the 1980s and 1990s, every January, the WatchTower Society even required "District Convention" attendees to purchase "parking passes" for the upcoming summer conventions. The THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS from the advance sale of those "parking passes" alone oftentimes was triple or quadruple what the WatchTower Society had paid for the rental of the convention venue. Despite the fact that the WatchTower Society had already made a HUGE PROFIT before Convention attendees even arrived onsite, the "Accounts Reports" read repeatedly during the Conventions and Assemblies almost always reported a large "deficit" -- prompting an admonition that attendees needed to up their donations to cover Convention/Assembly expenses.

Court cases involving followers of Charles Taze Russell who have been arrested on disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and other similar charges, while distributing WatchTower literature, date all the way back to the 1880s. As early as the 1890s, "Pastor Russell" found himself involved in two separate court cases involving his oil and gas interests, both of which went all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In 1895, Charles T. Russell filed a successful lawsuit against the City of Allegheny over street construction damage to his home. Starting in 1897, Maria Russell's separation from Charles Taze Russell, followed by the Maria Russell Divorce Court Case - UPDATED!!! from 1903 through 1908, haunted Charles Taze Russell for the remaining two decades of his life.

In 1907, after Charles Taze Russell's own local Pittsburgh attorneys were soundly defeated at the 1906 Russell Divorce proceedings, Charles Taze Russell employed his own full-time sneaky, unscrupulous, and ruthless attorney -- a follower from Missouri named JOSEPH FRANKLIN RUTHERFORD (Shocking Biographies of the CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES of "Judge" Rutherford and his TWO BROTHERS.). Charles Taze Russell had often been made fun of and mocked by newspapers and by clergymen around the world. At the urging of "Judge Rutherford", Charles Taze Russell started filing civil lawsuits against a number of newspapers (and threatened many others). Pastor Russell even once filed criminal charges against one Canadian clergyman who had exposed many of Russell's LIES and business scams.

After Joseph Franklin Rutherford came to work for self-styled "Pastor" Charles Taze Russell, in 1907, to serve as Russell's private Attorney, WatchTower Society Corporate Counsel, and WatchTower Society Traveling Lecturer, Joseph F. Rutherford was deceptively publicized as "Judge" Joseph F. Rutherford to the general public, so as to add prestige, credibility, and even intimidation, to each of "Judge" Rutherford's various activities. Thereafter, whenever reporters and others inquired about "Judge" J. F. Rutherford's background, they were told that "Judge" Rutherford had "practiced law" in Boonville, Missouri since 1889, and that "Judge" Rutherford also had been the "Public Prosecutor at/for Boonville, Missouri" for four years. There is no doubt but that the impression purposefully given reporters was that Joseph F. Rutherford had been THE publicly elected "Public Prosecutor" in Boonville, Missouri, as evidenced by newspaper articles expressing such as "fact". In fact, "Joe" Rutherford, as he was known by Missouri locals, had begun "practicing law" as an Attorney in 1892, not 1889. In fact, there was no such position as "Public Prosecutor at/for Boonville, Missouri". In reality, from 1899 to 1902, "Joe" Rutherford had occasionally worked "when needed" as an "Assistant" to the actual "Prosecuting Attorney of Cooper County" -- Ernest Chambers -- who was Joe Rutherford's law firm partner at Draffen & Company. Joseph Franklin Rutherford's background as a "Judge" in Cooper County Circuit Court was even weaker. Joseph F. Rutherford NEVER, EVER served as the "Circuit Judge" of Cooper County. J. F. Rutherford actually had run for the office of "Circuit Judge" of Cooper County in 1900, but he had been EASILY DEFEATED in the Democratic Primary. Joe Rutherford also had run for "State Representative" in 1896, but he had been DEFEATED in the Democratic Primary. Cooper county voters KNEW what kind of man was Joe Rutherford, and most did NOT like him. Missouri Law then provided that whenever a "Circuit Judge" could not make a scheduled court date that the local members of the Bar could elect one of their own to handle some of the Circuit Judge's routine duties for that day, as well as hear minor, routine cases. That generally meant that whichever local Attorney had no business before the court that day got to be "Special Judge" for an hour or so. In reality, practically every Attorney in rural Missouri got to be a "Special Judge" for a few days during their career. None of them would have ever dared to have assumed the title "Judge" for having done so, otherwise they would have been the laughing stock of their community. In the case of "Judge" Rutherford, he had served a grand total of four times as a "Special Judge" -- 2/17/1897, 6/3/1899, 3/15/1905, and 3/29/1905. Only two of those four times included hearing of minor, routine cases.

Charles Taze Russell died on HALLOWEEN 1916. Joseph F. Rutherford succeeded "Pastor" Russell as the third President of the Watch Tower Society. By June 1918, J. F. Rutherford and the other Directors and Officers of the Watch Tower Society were convicted of obstructing the war effort of the United States in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917, and served 9 months in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. The first ever SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES case involving the WatchTower Society, and the only ever SCOTUS case involving a Director or Officer of the WatchTower Society, was a separate criminal PERJURY prosecution of another WatchTower Director/Officer who had perjured himself during the SEDITION prosecution. That historic court case is found in our SECRET JW HISTORY CASES section.

Starting in the latter 1920s, "Judge" Rutherford (See our new RUTHERFORD FINANCIAL BIOGRAPHY) began training WatchTower followers to fight in their local courts anyone and everyone who dared oppose the work of the WatchTower Society. Local WatchTower meetings included "mock trials", with Elders playing the roles of prosecutors and defense attorneys. WatchTower followers were trained what to say and how to behave when being arrested, while in jail, and at trial (which they assumed they would lose), so as to make their case the best possible for the appeals process which was to follow. Appellate cases were what the WatchTower Society was hoping for, and it was at the appellate level that the WatchTower Society would jump in and take over the case.

By 1935, the number of court cases across the United States were so many that "Judge" Rutherford decided to form a separate Legal Department within the WatchTower Society. Olin R. Moyle, a Jehovah's Witness Attorney from Wisconsin, was selected by Rutherford to head up that new Legal Department. Olin Moyle did an excellent job. In 1938, Olin R. Moyle won the LOVELL case before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). However, in 1939, Olin Moyle got into disfavor with "Judge" Rutherford over the way that Moyle had handled the three assault cases that arose out of the arrests of three Bethelite ushers during Rutherford's Madison Square Garden speech. After being repeatedly falsely accused by those sycophants competing for "Judge" Rutherford's approval, Olin Moyle submitted his written resignation in protest. Moyle's letter also privately denounced Rutherford for his heavy drinking, occasional cursing, public denunciations of underlings, and other character flaws. Olin Moyle ended his letter with a vague reference to unaddressed matters of which he had no firsthand knowledge. Olin Moyle's tenure at WatchTower headquarters in all likelihood was long enough for Moyle, his wife, and his son, to also have learned that "Judge" Rutherford was a decades-long SERIAL ADULTERER -- which was the real reason for Rutherford's estrangement from both his wife and their only child, Mary Rutherford and Malcolm Cameron Rutherford. (Few, if any, WatchTower Cult followers know that "Judge" Rutherford's only child had started working at WatchTower Society Headquarters when he was around 16 years old, and that during his latter teens and early 20s, Malcolm Rutherford had served as a traveling assistant to both Charles Taze Russell and his father.) The FACT that "Judge" Rutherford had a series of "Bethelite Mistresses", starting at least as early as 1917 (probably earlier), was a Brooklyn Bethel secret kept safe from public disclosure by both Rutherford loyalists and his Russellite enemies alike, because "Judge" Rutherford was not the first - nor only - married WatchTower official to have had a Bethelite Mistress. (Bethelite Mistresses at WatchTower HQ was not the only scandalous issue which Rutherford and his Russellite enemies conspired to keep secret from both the general public and the two groups' own separate followers. Despite extensive commentary by each side regarding the 1917 and later schisms, each side conspired to keep secret the MAJOR ROLE that the California gold mine played in -- if not caused -- "Pastor" Russell's unexpected death, and the MAJOR ROLE that the California gold mine played in pitting WatchTower Society insiders against one another EVEN BEFORE and after Russell's death.)

OLIN R. MOYLE v. JOSEPH F. RUTHERFORD ET AL. When Olin Moyle submitted his PRIVATE letter of resignation and protest, "Judge" Rutherford over-reacted, became furious, and had the WatchTower Society's Board of Directors formally fire the already resigned Olin Moyle. J. F. Rutherford thereafter slandered Olin Moyle in the pages of the WATCHTOWER magazine and other cult literature. Olin R. Moyle successfully sued the WatchTower Society and its officials. Moyle ultimately was awarded $5000.00 actual damages, and $10,000.00 PUNITIVE DAMAGES -- a hefty sum during World War II. Interestingly, Olin Moyle had been handling the famous GOBITIS case, and Moyle had won at the trial court level, and Moyle had won at the Court of Appeals level. Notably, after Rutherford fired and repeatedly slandered Moyle, and did everything that he could do to destroy the lives of the Moyle Family, the MINERSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT appealed the GOBITIS case to the Supreme Court of the United States. "Judge" Rutherford himself argued the case before SCOTUS in 1940, and Rutherford LOST the case by a vote of 8-1. It was this very event that triggered the nationwide wave of violence against JWs that lasted for the next several months. [CLICK HERE TO GO TO DOZENS OF SECRET WATCHTOWER-RELATED CASES FROM THIS ERA.]

In late 1939, "Judge" Rutherford recruited Hayden C. Covington to replace Olin Moyle as head of the WatchTower Society's Legal Department. Hayden Covington was a 28 year-old fireball attorney from San Antonio, Texas, who had only recently converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Hayden Covington's personal habits more closely mirrored the personal habits of Joseph F. Rutherford than did the personal habits of Olin Moyle (In later years, Hayden Covington was hospitalized for treatment of his alcoholism on at least two occasions). Hayden Covington's father was known as the "Meanest Texas Ranger" of the 1920s-30s, who reportedly was disappointed that he had killed only 45 men. Hayden Covington's father is known to have assisted in at least one WatchTower court case -- against the City of San Antonio in 1940. Hayden Covington was married to a prominent San Antonio socialite, who moved with him to WatchTower headquarters. However, she did not stay long. She returned to San Antonio in late 1940, divorced Covington in 1941, and remarried in 1942.

Notably, within only a matter of months after Rutherford "sinned" against Olin Moyle and his family, "Judged" Rutherford contracted CANCER OF THE RECTUM, and died a painful death in January 1942. Thereafter, Rutherford's aggressive litigation policy was carried on by Hayden C. Covington. Honoring Rutherford's deathbed wishes, "Judge" Rutherford's latest best friend, Hayden Cooper Covington, was even elected Vice-President of the WatchTower Society in 1942, despite having been a Jehovah's Witness for only a few short years.

In the 1950s, Hayden Covington publicly claimed that he first became familiar with the teachings of the WatchTower Society in latter 1933, after the 22 year-old began boarding in the home of two schoolmates, whose father Covington later described as a fan of "Judge" Rutherford, but whom Covington did not identify as a "Jehovah's Witness". Covington claimed that he became a "witness of Jehovah" in 1934, but did not get baptized until sometime in the following year. We suspect that Covington later fudged his date of baptism to conform with the WatchTower Society's evolving teachings during the latter 1930s regarding the closing of the call of the "anointed remnant" occurring in 1935. Covington's life style from 1934 through 1938 simply was not consistent with that of the ordinary newly converted JW during that time period -- much less that of someone who was a fireball attorney whom threw himself into whatever was his latest project in life. Covington's lifestyle from 1934 to 1938 was more consistent with that of an "interested person" whom studies and occasionally attends meetings, but delays baptism for any number of personal reasons. We suspect that Covington may not have actually been baptized until around 1938, when he first began to legally represent Texan JWs who started to challenge various state laws restraining their public preaching. It may very well have been this eventual disclosure that forced Covington's resignation as Vice President of the WatchTower Society only three years after his election.

In the following years, Hayden Covington came to be hailed as one of the greatest civil liberties attorneys in American history. However, Covington did not get along with Rutherford's successor, Nathan Homer Knorr. Hayden Covington was first forced to resign as Vice-President of the WatchTower Society in 1945, and later, Covington even resigned as Head of the WatchTower Society's Legal Department. In 1963, Covington was even "disfellowshiped" from the Jehovah's Witness religion. Covington was not "reinstated" until a year or so before he died in 1978.

GO TO THE "FINANCIAL HONESTY" and "SECRET HISTORY" PAGES TO DISCOVER WHAT PROBABLY MOTIVATED HAYDEN COOPER COVINGTON'S EXCOMMUNICATION! While it has long been believed that Hayden Covington, who was the WORLD'S BEST KNOWN JEHOVAH'S WITNESS DURING THE 1950s, was eventually "disfellowshiped" because of his alcoholism, a closer investigation discloses that for several years prior to 1963, Covington had lost his moral compass and would go to any lengths to force Americans to kowtow to the whims of the WatchTower Society. The tidbits scattered and hidden in multiple court opinions that we are able to discover 50 years after the fact are probably nothing in comparison to the schemes that the WatchTower Society Hierarchy were privy to in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s.

A good example of the nitpicky, ridiculous lengths to which Hayden Covington and the WatchTower Society would go to force their will on local governments are the now long forgotten multiple failed attempts during the late 1950s to have municipal real estate zoning ordinances which required newly constructed Kingdom Halls to have off-street parking spaces declared unconstitutional for allegedly abridging freedom of assembly and freedom of worship. See 1957 SCOTUS case JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES v. BETHEL PENNSYLVANIA and 1960 SCOTUS case JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES v. ALLENDALE NEW JERSEY. That's correct!!! At least two of the SCOTUS cases which LIBERAL authors and reporters have been slobbering over for decades were over the life-or-death issue of PARKING SPACES at Kingdom Halls.

No other religion in America has spent more time in the state and federal court systems. Jehovah's Witnesses have won 48 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. That is probably more wins at the SCOTUS level than every other religious group in America put together. Considering that today's Watch Tower Society has an extremely active legal department, and considering that Jehovah's Witnesses are "favorite sons" of the ACLU, any employer who violates the civil rights of a Jehovah's Witness Employee will pay dearly for doing so.