A federal appeals court has ruled that Ohio televangelist Ernest Angley did not violate labor laws by urging members of his congregation to volunteer at his church's for-profit restaurant.
A lower court had ruled churchgoers were effectively employees of Cathedral Buffet in Cuyahoga Falls. The U.S. Department of Labor argued Angley coerced people into working by saying refusal could be a sin. The appeals court ruled the law deals with economic and not spiritual coercion. The court ruled churchgoers were not employees because they had no expectation of compensation.
