Maybe this is taking workplace religious discrimination a bit too far.
In EEOC v. CONSOL Energy, a case out of the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals, the Court upheld a jury award of nearly $600,000 to a longtime employee of CONSOL Energy Inc. because of the company’s failure to accommodate the employee’s religious concerns about a handprint scanner. It seems employee Beverly Butcher, Jr. believed the Book of Revelation that the “Mark of the Beast” identified followers of the Antichrist and, through the mark, manipulated its followers. Butcher refused to use the handprint scanner since he
believed it could identify him as a follower of the Antichrist. Consol Energy made him choose between his job and use of the handprint scanner. Butcher thus retired under protest.
The EEOC sued on Butcher’s behalf – your tax dollars at work. The jury found the company had constructively discharged Butcher instead of accommodating his religious beliefs and awarded compensatory damages of front and back pay, lost benefits and lost wages. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in its entirety.
Employers beware. If this Court’s interpretation is taken to its extreme employers could be liable for failing to accommodate some pretty bizarre religious beliefs. Just think, a Pastafarian Italian restaurant employee could sue his or her employer for being asked to serve spaghetti since it is an affront to their deity, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Bizarre. Can we get a “Ramen” from our readers?
The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.
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