Oregon construction company requires attendance at Bible Study
An Oregon man who says he was fired from his construction job for refusing to attend Christian bible study is appealing to a higher power: the court. In a lawsuit filed this month, Ryan Coleman, 34, says he didn't find out about the weekly bible study requirement until after Joel Dahl of Albany-based Dahled Up Construction hired him as a painter in late 2017, OregonLive reports. He says he went along with it for about six months before telling Dahl, "It's just not my thing." Dahl's response, per Coleman, "He said, 'well, I'm going to have to replace you." That was in April, KEZI reports.
Now, Coleman is seeking $800,000—$50,000 in lost earnings and $750,000 for "severe emotional distress, anguish, humiliation, anger, shame, and anxiety," per the lawsuit's ironically titled "prayer for relief." Dahl's attorney, accusing Coleman of seeking "unjustified financial gain," concedes that Dahled Up employees are required to go to bible study. But it's legal, he argues, because they're still on the clock when they attend. Colman's attorney disagrees: "This is so illegal," she says, adding that only religious organizations could have such a requirement. Dahl, who admits to past legal problems, says he's a "second-chance employer," with OregonLive noting that "God is a big part of Joel Dahl's life."
http://www.newser.com/story/264008/man-said-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-go-to-bible-study.html
According to Coleman and his lawsuit, owner Joel Dahl told him all employees were required to partake in regular Bible study sessions led by a Christian pastor during the work day, while on the clock.
Coleman told Dahl that the requirement was illegal, but Dahl wouldn’t budge, according to the lawsuit. In order to keep his job, Coleman obliged for nearly six months but ultimately told Dahl he couldn’t go, the suit says.
“I said ‘I’ve kept an open mind, and it’s just not my thing.’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m going to have to replace you,'” Coleman told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
“He said ‘You’re not going to tell me how to run my own company,’” Coleman continued. “I said ‘I’m not trying to tell you how to run your own company, but you’re not going to tell me what god to pray to.’”
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2018/08/lawsuit_oregon_construction_wo.html
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