Court rules for librarian fired over Sunday work

A federal district court ruled in favor of a Christian librarian who was fired after she requested to have Sundays off because of her religious beliefs.

A jury awarded Constance Rehm of Missouri damages for back pay, according to the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund.

"This ruling is very important in making sure that people of faith are not treated as second-class citizens," said ADF Litigation Counsel David LaPlante.

LaPlante said employers "have a responsibility to respect the religious beliefs of their employees and to make reasonable accommodations."

"This decision, along with the award of monetary compensation to the Christian librarian who lost her job, is very encouraging," he said.

As WorldNetDaily reported, ADF and the Christian Law Association filed the case against the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library in August 2004 after Rehmm was fired the previous May.

Library officials claim they made an attempt to accommodate Rehm by allowing a part-time employee to volunteer to work for her on Sundays, in return for her working on Saturdays.

But her attorneys called it a "smokescreen," arguing the library did not allow sufficient time for other employees to volunteer.

The library also stated, the lawyers pointed out, that even if someone volunteered, the request wouldn't necessarily have been approved.

Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act states an employee's request for accommodation based upon a sincere religious belief can only be denied if the employer can demonstrate that the request would cause undue hardship.

The lawsuit claimed the library has not made its case for denying Rehm's request and went too far in firing her for insubordination.

"Not only did the library fail to make its case for denying this librarian's request, library officials crossed the line in firing her for insubordination," said LaPlante.

He said the library "should not require an employee to violate her conscience, effectively forcing her to choose between her religious beliefs and her job."

Special offers:

Tick off the ACLU!

"Betrayed by the Bench"

Previous stories:

Librarian fired for refusing Sunday work

Sunday, holy Sunday?