The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Consol on behalf of the evangelical Christian general labourer, Beverly R Butcher, who was told he had to submit to biometric hand scanning for time and attendance tracking.

Butcher had previously written a letter to mine management over his concerns about the hand scanning technology relating to the Mark of the Beast and Antichrist discussed in the Bible.

The scanning technology provider, Recognition Systems, replied by saying its scanner product did not assign the Mark of the Beast.

It also said the left hand could be used for scanning – with the Bible indicating the Mark of the Best would only be on the right hand and forehead.

This defence did not impress a federal jury which decided that Butcher had informed his employer about a sincere religious belief which clashed with an employment requirement.

“The jury also found that Consol Energy failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for Butcher’s beliefs and that it wouldn’t have been an ‘undue hardship’ to do so,” the Exponent Telegram reported.

EEOC supervisory trial attorney Ron Phillips also reportedly told the court the agency will seek a permanent injunction to halt Consol from engaging in similar “religious discrimination”.