An employer cannot legally discriminate on account of religion. Can an employer opposed to$,$ say, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics$$you name it$$direct its employees to decline service to members of these groups? Is the employer$$s religious freedom abridged if the answer is yes? Can a bakery refuse to bake a cake for a gay wedding on religious grounds?

Arrow Automotive Industries remanufactures and distributes automobile and truck parts. Its operating plants produce identical product lines. The company is planning to open a new facility in Santa Maria, California. The employees at the Arrow plant in Hudson, Massachusetts, are represented by a union, the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. The Hudson plant has a history of unprofitable operations. The union called a strike when the existing collective bargaining agreement expired and a new agreement could not be reached. After several months, the board of directors of the company voted to close the striking plant. The closing would give Arrow a $24$ percent increase in gross profits and free capital and equipment for the new Santa Maria plant. In addition, the existing customers of the Hudson plant could be serviced by the Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant, which is currently being underutilized. What would have to be done if the plant$-$closing act applied to the situation?