Religious Discrimination Claims on the Rise in Employment Cases
Two former employees of the University of Texas at Arlington have filed suit in federal district court claiming that they are the victims of religious discrimination after being dismissed by the University. According to the lawsuit, last March, after learning that a male employee was having problems with a female co-worker, the two employees stayed after work to pray for the woman-- who was on vacation. They met at her office cubicle, prayed for her, and-- in the religious tradition of one of them-- dabbed olive oil on the door frame of the cubicle. The University, saying that it has been upheld by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said: "praying, shouting and/or chanting over a co-workers personal and professional belongings without her knowledge and consent constitutes harassment of a fellow co-worker. In addition, rubbing this co-worker's cubicle with oil is blatant disregard for university property, both of which are identified as behavior that is grounds for dismissal."
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