FFLC Settles Several Cases of Workplace Religious Discimination
Our Founding Freedoms Law Center attorneys recently settled several more cases involving claims of religious discrimination in the workplace. While the terms of the settlements are confidential, we are extremely pleased with the outcomes we were able to negotiate for our clients. In just the past year alone, FFLC has secured over $1 million for our clients related to workplace religious discrimination claims.
One recent settlement came after we filed a lawsuit in federal court against the retail giant PetSmart on behalf of our client, John Ochtyun, alleging he was wrongfully fired because of his religious beliefs. You can read our full Complaint HERE.
Ochtyun, a bi-vocational Christian minister who served as a store manager for PetSmart, where he worked for 16 years with a spotless record, was fired soon after he raised a concern over PetSmart’s new “LGBTQ Pride” policy. The lawsuit alleged that the policy required all PetSmart employees to direct any customer who questioned or complained about the store’s LGBTQ/Pride-themed merchandise to leave the store immediately, and if they would not do so, to call the police. It further alleged that Mr. Ochtyun urged his supervisor to allow employees to take a more even-handed approach to such complaints, by simply treating these (typically religious) customers the same way as they would treat any other customer who brought a complaint.
The lawsuit alleged a series of steps PetSmart took to get rid of Mr. Ochtyun, which we claimed showed unlawful religious discrimination against him because of his Biblical Christian faith and practice. While PetSmart denies discriminating against him because of his religious beliefs, we believed the facts and circumstances indicated otherwise, and we were prepared to persuade a jury to agree with us. But thankfully, all parties were able to come to the table to resolve the matter before going to trial.
FFLC is regularly contacted by Virginians who have experienced religious discrimination by their employers, many times after being fired from their jobs because of conflicts with their faith and their employers’ refusal to accommodate them as required by law. In other cases, they are facing an imminent threat of termination, and our attorneys have stepped in to help them keep their jobs – like Newport News firefighter Andrew Woodward.
Please be in prayer for us as we continue to help protect people of faith from religious discrimination in the workplace. If you or someone you know is facing religious discrimination by an employer or the government, please feel free to reach out to our attorneys.