Can I file a lawsuit against my company for religious discrimination?

redvelvetflames4ever

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act you do not have anything. They did not ask you to come into work every Sunday per your original agreement. They asked you to come in specifically for that one Sunday due to a meeting they were holding with the staff. However, I do have an issue with the statement "..find some way of firing [you if] a mistake [was] made ever again." That could certainly be viewed as a form of retaliation BUT what you need to understand "retaliation" is not just one specific act or comment. Retaliation is continuous abuse unless that one specific act is an extreme. For example, one case in particular a couple of years ago a large global company in NYC the client had complained to HR numerous times over the abuse she was experiencing at the hands of executive management. Due to her complaints she was not only demoted, but they cut her salary by over 40% and moved her to a cubicle. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) found such a blatant and obvious act of retaliation after following company procedures to file a grievance with the appropriate department(s) could not be interpreted to mean she was demoted due to her work performance as they contended. There was no problem with her performance until she filed a complaint with the companies HR department and legal department. She won a nice chunk of change. My point to you is there request for you to attend this meeting should not have been an issue. You brought to there attention the agreement signed between you and the manager and you could have made it clear you could NOT miss another Sunday as agreed. NOW if they begin to nit pick at you and I suggest you begin keeping a diary then you may have grounds in the near future and can file a formal complaint with the EEOC. The manager or whomever said this to you is an idiot. I cannot believe they would actually make such a statement and if such a statement was made I suggest you go and file a complaint with the Human Resource department and begin building a case.

james_jass

um it can be a discrimanation if you want to call it that. but a lot of people miss church because they have to do what they have to do, and that is financially stable. i mean what is your situation right now, is a job what you need right now. church is always going to be around but your job isnt. it just all boils down to the fact what do you really want to do!

thefinalresult

I don't believe this question. And even if it is true the company would have enough or be able to create enough without the missed meeting to fire you. The world and business doesn't stop on Sunday and you can worship anytime and anyday. Get over yourself . And get over this sue happy attitude. Maybe you would be better off working for a Christian company.................

TedEx

To be taken seriously, you'll beed a lawyer. For the lawyer to take you seriously, you'll have to come up with a few thousand for a retainer.
If it is a global company, they have their lawyers too, who will be glad to tell your lawyer what they told you.

Spindrift

This is an either way situation; they did give you Sundays off but this is a one time emergency meeting. You can talk to an attorney and the case might go your way, but be advised if you do get fired and pursue this in a court of law, other companies will be reluctant to hire you. You can go to the meeting this one time and make sure they know it is an exception you are making, and you can attend a church service Saturday night if they have one at that time.
On your side is the signed permission from your mgr; on their side is this emergency situation one time event.

linda

NO. Many businesses operate on Sunday!
If you don't like your schedule QUIT. Working or quiting is your decision.
You must decide what is more important to you, a job, feeding, clothing and housing your family or being off on Sunday.
Good luck

pypers_son

You have no case. Your employer has the right to call you anytime. He does give you a paycheck. You say it was an "emergency" meeting? That's just part of normal business practice. And, if your company operates on a 24-hour basis, you really have no leg to stand on.

I am a Christian, and try to attend service every Sunday. Yet, my company (a major US airline) has called me in many times to handle emergency or urgent issues not only on Sunday (any time of the day), but also on weekends, nights and holidays.

sonyack

Could be that they scheduled the meeting so that you would complain about it so they could fire you. But then, likely not, as they could find a reason less subject to lawsuit.

It is clear that they are discriminating against you on religious grounds. But people lie and cheat, so proving it will be tough.
And if you right away file a discrimination suit, you will have to show that you have suffered from it, and filing a suit is the end of your job in the end anyway. And they are already looking to fire you, and it is hard to find a job with the reputation of being a person who will sue "the company."

So best thing is to make a deal - you'll find another job and they will help you leave by giving you a nice reference.

Or you could dig in and sue on principle. You might win, but you can't sue until they retaliate and they will just wait until they can drum up a "mistake" for which to fire you.....

x-15a2

You can file a lawsuit against anybody for just about anything. Will you win? Doubt it.

Tom K

Step 1: Go to Radio Shack or some similar place and buy a small voice-actuated recorder.

Step 2: Learn to use it.

Step 3: Use it, specifically use it when you ask for a clarification that they will NEVER put on paper..

Belgariad

If you made a signed agreement when you were employed that you would have Sundays off too go to church then you could make an argument.
But if it was just a verbal agreement than you would have no legit case.

rocketdog883

My mother is a paralegal in a law office. You should talk to your attorney and get as much proof as possible that they threatened you. If they do fire you, that is a good case for wrongful termination. If you do peruse it, I would settle. You'll get more out of that than if you take it to court. However, If you do involve the law that job will probably get very awkward. But this all depends on your companies hand book and the law of your state.

2Beagles

If your manager signed off on you being able to take Sundays off, then I don't know why they would act this way. Do you work for the church in some way, or just attend service? A lot of churces have services on Wednesdays. Is there a way you could go then so you could still make the meeting? If you really want to take it as far as suing them, then you need to contact an employment attorney and find out if you even have a chance to win this. My sister got fired from her job one time when she didn't show up for a mandatory meeting on her day off. Be careful.

Yohan V

Go For It - Never Back Down From A Tyrant - Lots O Luck -

miakista

Yes..i am 100% sure. Go for it!

sadhu

It is better if the Company respects your sentiment and gives you off on Sunday for enablilng you to attend the Church. But the Company is not established to give you off on Sunday alone. You should discharge your responsibilities to the requirements of the Company. With one man's negligence, the entire Company may collapse. At the end, you can file any suit against Company as such you can not prove the religious descrimination.

Contented

I would contact a lawyer. Seems like they are looking for an excuse to let you go.

Leprechaun of Jupiter

if they do fire u yes u can sue but being a global company with high priced legal guns it will be tough. However maybe u can contact ur church if its part of a bigger organization and they can help u fight it with their own lawyer. For example ur employer may be willing to bully u but not want to take on arch diocese or whichever church u r connected 2

Solita

depends on the state your in, if your employer is an "at will" employer then no, you have no employee contract, if there is a contract you need to look at the clauses in it.....you might have a case....

markinmonroe63

I dont know if you ever heard of libetry council but they might be able to help you they have web site lc.org. it sound like you might have a case.they dont charge anything for advice.

R J

First find an attorney and do not mention company name, yo umay have to call out of town if you don't live in a big city. Once that is out of the way you can always go to EEOC and they may help. If you first talk to them and are a white male, you will probably be turned down at this point and then only have two months to find an attorney. If you are something else I suggest the attorney first anyway and what they say is not gospel either.

Hopefully you will not be fired, but we will be able to get back pay and job back and possibly more. People are just that way now a days. there's also the ACLU, but there again you have that slant towards a certain area.

Please remember that the peter Principle applies to our government. Hope it works out, but if they say you could have gone to night services, you never know, but super big plus document signed by owner.

Hope you end up owning company. Take care.

The one.

I say sue them, This seems like enough evidence,

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