Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

[philosoraptor]

I apologize if this is a dupe topic-I looked, but didn't see anything else that really fit.

So here's my dilemma.  I already wrote about my Christian coworker going apeshit over Andrea Yates.  Of course, that was only one incident that occurred at my job.

Back when I first started, my manager told me upfront they curse a lot in my department, which didn't really bother me.  My coworkers dropped f-bombs and Jesus Christs and shit and bitch like it was nothing.  One day, after hanging up with a particularly difficult customer, I said god damnit.  My one coworker teased me and said not to take the Lord's name in vain.  I told him I was an atheist, so it didn't really matter to me.  He immediately started grilling me about why I was atheist.  I told him I didn't really think it was a good topic to discuss at work, but he pressed me and I gave him the simplified answer that I thought the world had to much evil in it for a loving God to exist.  He gave me a hard time about my answer until I told I really didn't want to discuss it.  About here is the point where it came out that all of my coworkers are Catholic and attend church together.

A few days ago, my one coworker says she finally got her daughter on the wait list to be baptised, but that she had to make a $150 donation fist.  I was incredulous.  I asked how was it that they could charge a fee for something they believe is required to get into heaven.  I was told this was not appropriate, but apparently, it was fine back when my coworker grilled me about my beliefs.  Go figure.  Additionally, my coworkers would talk about church all the time in front of me, which made me feel like an outcast.  One day, the coworker who went off on the Andrea Yates thing made a snide remark about my lack of beliefs (well what do you do on Sundays, since you don't go to church?), but I let it slide in the interest of trying to maintain workplace harmony.  Oy.

Fast forward to today.  They terminated me.  My boss told me I was a nice person, and a very hard and dependable worker, but that I wasn't cut out for the job.  WTF?  I was a model employee, but not cut out for the job?  That doesn't even make sense. I feel like this was really code for I didn't fit in, because I wasn't Catholic or a raging bigot like my coworkers (the blatant racism and discrimination against customers is a juicy story all on its own).

So...here's my question.  I've already spoken with their outside HR rep about this, and am in the process of filing a complaint with the EEOC, but are there any atheist or secular organizations I might talk to regarding the religious discrimination?  I want to do every thing I can, because the way this went down is really ridiculous.

[pinkocommie]

Doooooood that sucks.  I would email the FFRF and ACLU and see what they say.  If they can't help you, they might at least be able to point you in the right direction.  I'm sorry you have to go back to looking for work, but that place sounded shitty enough that you will probably be better off in the long run not working there.  Sorry man!  

[Thumpalumpacus]

Sorry to hear about this.  Pinko's advice is sound.

Also, when you file for unemployment benefits, ask your case-worker about the issue.  Lay it out just as you have here.  Make sure that you mention this to your case-worker.  If your company decides to argue against your claim, it may be vital that this info is documented ASAP.

Out of curiousity, did you mention this issue to HR before you were termed?  If so, demand a copy of that report.  In most states, you have a right to examine and make copies of your employee records; and such a report would be decisive in settling your claim in your favor.

Good luck on, ahem, nailing them to the cross.

[philosoraptor]

I didn't even get a chance to talk to HR until today-she's located out of our office, and my hours were as such that by the time I was done working, she was no longer in her office.  I did incidentally contact the FFRF and AAI, so we'll see if that goes anywhere.  I'll have to look into unemployment-I may not have worked there long enough to qualify.

[humblesmurph]

Wow, that is awful.  Did you confront the asshole who fired you about the obvious discrimination?  What did (s)he say?

[philosoraptor]

I didn't confront anyone-there were more than a few times when my coworkers said offensive things that I called them out and told them I found it offensive.  They obviously know where I stand on it, which I suspect is why I was let go.  I figured, rather than start a scene, it was better to exit gracefully and file the appropriate paper work.  I'll let the EEOC do the dirty work.

[Whitney]

If you don't mind potentially being interviewed for the tv or paper; issue a press release and personally contact your local news outlets....I don't know about where you live but around here anything atheist related has a good chance of making the news.   Figuring out how to pitch it as a story worth telling above and beyond being a basic discrimination case will increase the chances of it making it on the news.

It may not do anything to fix what has already been done but might make them think twice about doing it to someone else.

[philosoraptor]

I actually thought about doing that, Whitney.  No harm in drafting a story and seeing if any of the local news outlets take a nibble.

[NothingSacred]

Id say fight it out not just because of the fact that you have the freedom to believe or disbelieve as you wish but because companies think they can dismiss and dispose of hardworking emplyees as they wish. I was fired from my previous job because I had akidney infection and they had a rule that you couldn't miss more than 2 days a year. It was a HOSPITAL and it was UNION ..these sorts of things make my blood boil. People have bills to pay and families to feed.

[Tank]

Philo

Is religion the only issue or is it also that your intelligence makes your boss concerned about their own job? Are there other issues than the obvious one?

[Will]

About here is the point where it came out that all of my coworkers are Catholic and attend church together.

Oh crap.  

Fast forward to today.  They terminated me.  My boss told me I was a nice person, and a very hard and dependable worker, but that I wasn't cut out for the job.  WTF?  I was a model employee, but not cut out for the job?  That doesn't even make sense. I feel like this was really code for I didn't fit in, because I wasn't Catholic or a raging bigot like my coworkers (the blatant racism and discrimination against customers is a juicy story all on its own).

So...here's my question.  I've already spoken with their outside HR rep about this, and am in the process of filing a complaint with the EEOC, but are there any atheist or secular organizations I might talk to regarding the religious discrimination?  I want to do every thing I can, because the way this went down is really ridiculous.

I'm not an attorney, so take this with a grain of salt, but many employers these days fire people for what in reality are entirely inappropriate reasons, but on paper they're fine. Though you may have been fired for being an atheist, I have to imagine that would be very, very difficult to prove in court. Contact the ACLU. Even though we're a bit swamped right now, I'm pretty sure they can give you a list of options, possibly including the names of local attorneys that specialize in cases like yours.

I'm sorry you've lost your job. I got fired once and it sucks. Still, keep your head up and move forward. Maybe your next job will feature coworkers that aren't raging lunatics.

[philosoraptor]

Unfortunately, the religious issues are just the tip of the iceberg.  As I mentioned earlier, bigotry and racism ran rampant through my department.  I witnessed an exchange between my boss and my coworker where he basically told her not to do something for an Indian customer that he would've done if the person had been white.  Religious issues aside, someone needs to know about the racism and do something about it-it's not fair to the customers or the other people working there.  I was basically told that the way you treat a customer was dependent on their race or color.  Whenever my coworkers made racially inappropriate or bigoted comments, I objected to them.  I think the fact that I wasn't willing to discriminate was another contributing factor to what happened.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Unfortunately, the religious issues are just the tip of the iceberg.  As I mentioned earlier, bigotry and racism ran rampant through my department.  I witnessed an exchange between my boss and my coworker where he basically told her not to do something for an Indian customer that he would've done if the person had been white.  Religious issues aside, someone needs to know about the racism and do something about it-it's not fair to the customers or the other people working there.  I was basically told that the way you treat a customer was dependent on their race or color.  Whenever my coworkers made racially inappropriate or bigoted comments, I objected to them.  I think the fact that I wasn't willing to discriminate was another contributing factor to what happened.

Oh lordy, and you didn't mention this to HR?

[philosoraptor]

Oh no, I mentioned it to HR.  I told her everything.  Someone at that office should be shitting bricks right about now.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Good!

The very fact that there's a record of an HR complaint from you gives you much stronger legs here.  Do keep us posted, and, again, best of luck.  Stick it to 'em.