Two North Carolina workers say they were fired for failing to attend the company’s daily prayer sessions, according to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee Monday. John McGaha and Mackenzie Saunders claim that their former employer, Aurora Pro Services in Greensboro, created a hostile work environment because they refused to attend compulsory Christian “prayer meetings.” The lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former high school football coach who was punished by a Washington state school board for praying in midfield after a football game, a ruling that upholds some religious freedoms as a victory for expression. The EEOC lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greensboro on Monday, says Aurora Pro Services, which has between 11 and 50 employees, did not provide religious housing to the two non-Christian plaintiffs, discriminated against them and reduced punitive McGaha salaries. Aurora Pro Services did not respond to a request for comment. Supreme Court rules on high school football coach praying in midfield The EEOC claims that Aurora Pro Services, which provides housing contract services such as roofing, plumbing and heating, required its employees to stand in a circle of prayer as the owner read Bible scriptures and verses. Post McGaha asked if he could avoid activity while Saunders fired them, they were fired despite their satisfactory job performance, the complaint states. Session participants he sometimes asked for prayers for poorly performing employees and business matters woven with biblical text and references, according to the lawsuit. McGaha, who worked for the company from June to September 2020 as construction manager, observed that the duration of prayer meetings increased from about 20 minutes to 45 minutes or more as time went on. He attended prayer circles shortly after work, but began to find them unbearable because of how religious they became. In late August 202o, McGaha asked the owner if he could exclude himself from daily prayer because it contradicted his own beliefs about atheism, but his request was granted in response that it was in his best interest to attend. according to the complaint. McGaha made the same request a few weeks later, only to be told that his feelings and beliefs about prayer meetings did not matter and that his presence was mandatory. According to the lawsuit, at a prayer circle meeting, the owner told McGaha: “If you do not participate, it does not matter, you do not need to work here. You get paid to be here. “ Shortly afterwards, McGaha received an email informing him that his weekly pay would be reduced by 50%. He was fired shortly afterwards. Supreme Court Says Maine Cannot Deny Religious Tuition Saunders, who is an agnostic, said the owner asked people to recite the universal version of the Lord’s Prayer in one voice and had them listen to his voices, according to the complaint. She was fired about two to three weeks after she stopped going to meetings, according to the lawsuit, with the owner telling her she “did not fit” for the company. The complaint states that the owner’s reason for terminating Saunders is “a pretext for retaliation”. Saunders worked as a customer service representative for the company from November 2020 to January 2021. The lawyer representing McGaha and Saunders declined to comment on the complaint. However, Melinda C. Dugas, EEOC’s Charlotte District Attorney, said in a statement on Tuesday that the lawsuit would protect workers from choosing between their beliefs and their means of subsistence. “Employers who provide prayer meetings at work have a legal obligation to host employees whose personal religious or spiritual views run counter to the company’s practice,” he said. The EEOC is seeking a jury trial, an order that would prevent the company from “forcing” employees to attend prayer and compensate plaintiffs.
