The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including religious discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In an August 7, 2009 Press Release, the EEOC announced that a beauty salon company will pay $26, 250.00 and provide other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit in which EEOC attorneys alleged that the company refused to accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious belief.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-7-09a.html .  According to the Press Release, a stylist held the religious belief that she could not work on Sunday.  When she informed her employer of her Sabbath Day religious belief and requested a Sabbath Day accommodation, the employer allegedly ignored her request and fired her from her job.  As stated in the Press Release, refusing to accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious belief, absent undue hardship on the employer, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In this regard, EEOC attorneys filed the religious discrimination lawsuit after first attempting to reach a voluntary out of court settlement.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release stated that “Ignoring an employee’s request for religious accommodation doesn’t make it go away.”  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether employment related Sabbath Day religious discrimination occurs in Conroe, Freeport, Houston, or elsewhere, victims of workplace religious discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a religious discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential Sabbath Day discrimination claim.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace religious discrimination and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees’ and applicants’ sincerely held religious beliefs as long as this does not pose an undue hardship.  In this regard, attorneys for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a July 20, 2009 EEOC Press Release that an elder care facility in White Hall, Arkansas will pay $24,000.00 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC in Arkansas.  According to the EEOC Press Release, EEOC attorneys charged that the elder care facility denied a religious accommodation to a certified nursing assistant and fired her because of her religious beliefs.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-20-09.html .  As stated in the Press Release, the certified nursing assistant, who had worked at the White Hall facility for over a year, is a Seventh Day Adventist, and her Sabbath is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday evening.  Her religious beliefs prohibit her from working on her Sabbath.  After accommodating her for over a year, the facility suddenly refused to allow the employee to take off on her Sabbath and then terminated her employment, according to the Press Release.  An EEOC attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “An employee should not be forced to choose between her religion and her job [and] this case demonstrates the EEOC’s commitment to combat religious discrimination in the workplace.”  

Over the past decade, religion-based charge filings with EEOC offices nationwide have almost doubled, from 1,786 in Fiscal Year 1998 to 3,273 in Fiscal Year 2008.  In this regard, further information about the EEOC and religion discrimination may be found at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether workplace religious discrimination occurs in Texas or elsewhere, victims of employment related religious discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a religious discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential employment discrimination claim.

Officials in the east Texas town of Paris said Thursday they are preparing for an influx of black separatists and white supremacists at a planned protest next week over the death of a black man who was run over by a truck and dragged. The Lamar County Commissioner’s Court has created designated zones for protesters to help police maintain order Tuesday, the day a rally organized by the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party is scheduled outside the county courthouse.

The protest is the third related to the death of 24-year-old Brandon McClelland, whose mangled body was found Sept. 16 on a country road outside Paris, about 90 miles northeast of Dallas. Authorities estimated McClelland’s body had been dragged more than 70 feet beneath a vehicle.

Two white men, Shannon Finley and Charles Crostley, were charged with murdering McClelland by running him down in Finley’s pickup after the three friends made a late-night beer run from their dry town across state lines to Oklahoma. But a special prosecutor dismissed the charges last month, citing a lack of evidence, and the men were released after more than eight months in jail.

The previous protests by the Panthers and the Nation of Islam were mostly peaceful and resulted in no arrests. But authorities said there were hints of white supremacist groups showing up this time.

“We have some very specific intel that there would be some counter-protestors — white supremacists, KKK, skinheads — who wish to attend,” said Bill Harris, the first assistant county and district attorney for Lamar County.

At the November and June protests, there were a handful of white supremacists led by Rock Banks, a self-professed grand titan of the East Texas Ku Klux Klan. Words flew in June when Banks waded into the crowd holding aloft a patch depicting a Nazi-era Iron Cross. The KKK, the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party are considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The racial implications of the McClelland case have reminded some of the murder of James Byrd, a black man who was chained by the ankles to a pickup by three white men and dragged to death in 1998 in the east Texas town of Jasper.

Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville said the protest zones are designed to separate members of the Nation of Islam and the Panthers from white supremacists. Law enforcement officials requested the zones as a proactive step to avoid conflict.

Main Street, which runs along the east side of the courthouse, will serve as a dividing line, Superville said. He said he is trying to balance free speech rights with public safety concerns and the desire to keep open the courthouse. “We are going to preserve the peace,” the judge said. “This place is more like Mayberry than Jasper.” Brenda Cherry, a community activist in Paris who leads the Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality group, called the commissioners’ decision “racist and ignorant.”

“They are trying to stifle us and violate our constitutional rights,” she said.

Associated Press

Attorneys with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a June 22, 2009 EEOC Press Release that an operator of ski resorts in Vail and Keystone, Colorado will pay $80,000.00 and furnish other relief to settle a religious and gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.  According to the Press Release, the lawsuit charged that an emergency services supervisor was subjected to harassment based on her Christian religion and her sex, denied religious accommodation and treated less favorably than her male colleagues.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-22-09.html .  As stated in the EEOC Press Release, the employee’s supervisor allegedly forbade her and another Christian employee from even discussing their Christian beliefs with one another while at work, and would not allow them to listen to Christian music while on duty, because it might offend other employees, but had no similar restrictions on music with profanity or lyrics promoting violence against women, which were offensive to her.  In addition, the EEOC lawsuit claimed that she was ridiculed by her supervisor for asking for scheduling accommodation so that she could attend her preferred religious services.  Further, the lawsuit alleged that her supervisor tolerated and created a sexually hostile work environment where he and other male employees made offensive sexual comments and jokes in the workplace.

Whether employment related discrimination against Christians occurs in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of workplace religious bias against Christians may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a religious harassment lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

Religious discrimination charge filings reported to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) offices nationwide have substantially increased from 1,388 in Fiscal Year 1992 to 3,273 in Fiscal Year 2008.  Accoring to a June 18, 2009 EEOC Press Release, United Parcel Service, Inc. has agreed to offer monetary damages and religious accommodations to a 19-year employee at UPS’s Bartlett, Tennessee facility to resolve a religious discrimination lawsuit filed against UPS by EEOC attorneys.  As stated in the EEOC Press Release, the lawsuit charged that UPS violated federal law by refusing to accommodate the religious beliefs of one of its drivers and trying to force him to work past sundown on his Sabbath.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-18-09.html .  This conduct allegedly violated his tenets as a member of the United Church of God, and, in this regard, religious discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that sincerely held religious beliefs of employees must be accommodated by employers as long as it does not cause undue hardship on the company.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release stated that “All employers must respond reasonably to an employee’s religious accommodation requests.” 

Whether workplace religious discrimination occurs in Baytown, Freeport, Wharton or elsewhere, victims of employment related religion bias may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a religious discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

In a U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) June 8, 2009 Press Release, DOJ attorneys announced filing of a civil rights lawsuit against Essex County, N.J. in which it is alleged that the county subjected a Muslim corrections officer to employment discrimination on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-559.html .  According to the DOJ Press Release, the lawsuit alleges, more specifically, that the county refused to permit the Muslim corrections officer to wear a religiously mandated headscarf at work and first suspended and then terminated her on the ground that her wearing of a khimar head scarf violated its uniform policy for corrections officers.  The DOJ charges in the religion discrimination lawsuit that the officer had requested a religious accommodation, but the county denied her request.  Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of religion and requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation of employees’ religious observances and practices.  The DOJ enforces Title VII’s prohibitions against employment discrimination with respect to state and local governments.  An attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Employees should not have to choose between their religious beliefs and their economic livelihood.” 

Whether religious discrimination against Muslims occurs in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, or elsewhere, Muslim victims of employment discrimination based on religion may contact the EEOC, and, where appropriate, the DOJ, as well as an attorney or lawyer to determine if a religion discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential religious discrimination claim.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination and employment related religious discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In a May 28, 2009 EEOC Press Release, the federal agency announced that an oil company has agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC attorneys.  According to the Press Release, the EEOC charged in the lawsuit that the company discriminated against a pipefitter employee by refusing to grant his request for a religious accommodation.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/5-28-09a.html .  As noted in the Press Release, the employee served as deacon and lay leader in his congregation and he was allegedly informed in May 2006 that he must work a schedule that would make him miss Sunday services for two months.  Despite his requests, the employer failed to accomodate him, and he was unable to attend Sunday church services during this time.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ and applicants’ sincerely held religious beliefs - as long as this does not pose an undue hardship to the company.  An EEOC director quoted in the Press Release said that “If reasonable alternatives exist, the law does not allow an employer to force an employee to choose between keeping his job and practicing his faith.”  As stated in the Press Release, the consent decree provides for injunctive releif and company policy change, as well as $20,000.00 to resolve the litigation.

Whether work related religious discrimination against an employee or applicant’s sincerely held religious beliefs occurs in Houston, Port Lavaca, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of employment discrimination based on religion may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a faith discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential faith discrimination claim.

In an April 4, 2009 Craig Daily Press article by Collin Smith, the newspaper reported that a Moffat County Commission agreed to settle a Denver wrongful termination lawsuit in which a Moffat County Parks and Recreation employee alleged that she was fired as a result of religious persecution.  According to the article, the lawsuit contended that the plaintiff was fired in February 2007 because she complained about religious overtures from her direct supervisor who reportedly questioned her about her religious practices and beliefs “in an agressive manner.”  See, Smith, Collin, “County Settles Religious Discrimination Suit,” 4/4/09, http://www.craigdailypress.com .

In Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission (”TWC”) offers general information about religious discrimination to the public in its “Employment Discrimination Fact Sheets” found at the TWC website.  See, http://www.twc.state.tx.us/crd/facts/html .  According to the TWC, Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of religion, indicating, in part, that it is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant because of their religion.  Employers are required to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer, and, according to the TWC, an employer can, for example, claim undue hardship when accommodating an employee’s religious practices if allowing such practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs.  As stated by the TWC, flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers are examples of accommodating an employee’s religious beliefs. 

In addition, further information about employment related religious discrimination may be found by contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) or visiting the federal agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether unlawful religious discrimination occurs in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston or elsewhere, victims of employment related religious bias may contact the EEOC and, in Texas, the TWC, as well as a lawyer to determine if a workplace religious discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential workplace religious discrimination claim.

In an April 28, 2009 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) Press Release, the federal agency announced that a medical center will pay $70,000 and provide other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC attorneys.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/4-28-09.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the religion discrimination lawsuit alleged that the medical center refused to allow a practicing Muslim to use his earned vacation time to make his pilgrimage to Mecca, which is required by his faith, and, instead of accommodating his request for extended leave, the medical center insisted that he either work as scheduled or resign his position and reapply.  The EEOC claims that when he returned from his pilgrimage and reapplied to work at the medical center, he was not rehired, and, in this regard, refusing to accommodate a sincerely held religious belief violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  An EEOC attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Demanding that an employee choose between his job and a mandatory tenet of his faith is a violation of federal law.”

Further information about the EEOC is available at its website at www.eeoc.gov .

In a December 31, 2008 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) Press Release, the federal agency announced that a federal appeals court declined to review a jury verdict in an EEOC religious discrimination lawsuit against a telecommunications company, leaving in place a jury finding that the company unlawfully discriminated against two customer service technicians who were fired after attending a Jehova’s Witnesses convention.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/12-31-08.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the EEOC had charged the San Antonio, Texas based-company with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by denying the two employees a reasonable accommodation of their sincerely held religious beliefs, as the law requires, and unlawfully terminating them because of those beliefs.  As reported in the Press Release, the jury awarded damages, including lost wages, and the trial court ordered the company to, among other things, reinstate both men.  An EEOC trial attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “These were two outstanding employees who simply should have been allowed to attend the Jehova’s Witness convention as they had done during their employment.” 

Religious discrimination charge filings reported to the EEOC offices nationwide have, as stated in the EEOC Press Release, substantially increased from 1,388 in Fiscal Year 1992 to 2,880 in Fiscal Year 2007.  The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination and further information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether employment related religious bias occurs in San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of religious discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a religious discrimination or bias lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential religious discrimination claim.