A one-sentence section of Pennsylvania unemployment law has revived a religious discrimination claim brought in federal court by an atheist against his Christian employer.

U.S. District Senior Judge Jan DuBois of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania revisited his October 2014 opinion that had dismissed the claim that Christian Heating and Air Conditioning had denied Paul Mathis a reasonable accommodation under Title VII.

Mathis had been a sheet-metal installer for the company for about two years when he was fired after covering with tape the part of his name tag that said, “This company is not only a business, it is a ministry. It is set on standards that are higher than man's own. Our goal is to run this company in a way most pleasing to the lord.” The statement conflicted with his beliefs as an atheist, according to DuBois' opinion.