FedEx Worker Settles Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

Excerpt from "FedEx Worker Settles Religious Discrimination Lawsuit, Citizen Link, by Steve Fountain. May 16, 2012--Federal Express settled a lawsuit this week with a former employee who claimed the delivery service failed to accommodate his religious beliefs.

The settlement, which is confidential, was reached after U.S. District Court Judge Edmund E. Chang denied FedEx’s bid to rule in its favor without further court proceedings. “FedEx supervisors tied Weathers’ hands (more precisely, his tongue) on a topic of great importance to him, and did not bother to respond to his request for an accommodation,” Chang wrote. In addition to being told by supervisors he couldn’t answer coworkers’ questions about the Bible, Eric Weathers — who has a degree in youth ministry from a Christian school and is pursuing a divinity degree — was told he would have to lie about that if people asked him directly. According to the lawsuit, Weathers’s supervisors also refused to tell him why his speech was banned.

When he sought clarification from human resources, he received an e-mail stating religious and political discussions are “forbidden in the workplace,” and that his specific speech was an “act detrimental to the company” — a designation reserved for sexual harassment, illegal drugs, theft and other such actions. “You can’t make somebody check their faith at the door just because you’re a big corporation,” said Jason Craddock, an attorney allied with the Alliance Defense Fund, who represented Weathers. Weathers never received a company response to his formal request to exercise his free speech under federal law protections. Though Weathers received good performance reviews, he was demoted. He later quit and sued the company. Full story can be found here.

CMDA Member Robert Rogan, MD, JD: "Religious liberty is undergoing numerous changes in our modern society, a far cry from the age of having prayers in schools and state constitutions requiring one to be a believer to hold public office. Now we must walk a fine line in our interactions in our work and public arenas. The FedEx case recently settled exemplifies the potential muzzling of a witnessing believer of our Master and Savior.

"The believer here followed appropriate steps to ascertain his witnessing limitations or boundaries. He was not willing to lie about his education if asked by coworkers, however. The judge appears to have carefully weighed the legal issues and arrived at a reasonable decision, unlike other recent cases where judges make law instead of interpreting the law.

"As believers in today's intolerant yet tolerance-demanding society, we have our work cut out for us. We face increasingly unreasonable restrictions and consequences for sharing our faith. Sadly, as one reads the prophetic scriptures, this will get worse until the return of the One we share about. While we are still protected by law, we should continue to share our faith and hope.

"Although for the present, we may need to go 'by the book' in sharing about the Writer of the Book and maintain appropriate respect to worldly authorities. As the New Testament shows, knowing what authority is legitimate and its proper boundaries will be our struggle. If we remain silent at the wrong times, the rocks may even cry out."

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