A healthcare provider agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to a woman who lost her job after she informed higher-ups of her need to dress modestly due to her religious beliefs.
Wellpath, based in Tennessee, will pay $75,000 and provide “significant equitable relief” as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging unlawful religious discrimination against a candidate for a job, according to a Tuesday statement by the federal agency.
“Under federal law, when a workplace rule conflicts with an employee’s sincerely held religious practice, an employer must attempt to find a workable solution,” said Philip Moss, a trial attorney at the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office.
DELIVERY SERVICE TO PAY $50,000 TO EMPLOYEE FIRED AFTER REFUSING TO WORK SUNDAY
“This settlement should underscore the importance of employers taking affirmative steps to comply with their obligations under anti-discrimination laws,” Moss added.
Malinda Babineaux, a Christian nurse with Apostolic Pentecostal beliefs, was hired by Wellpath to work at the GEO Central Texas Correctional Facility in San Antonio, according to the complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas San Antonio Division on Sept. 14, 2020. Prior to her first day at work, Babineaux informed a human resources employee that due to her religious beliefs, she would need to wear a scrub skirt instead of the usual scrub pants, the EEOC said.
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination against a person based on such things as religion, race, and sex are prohibited. Employers are required to offer reasonable accommodations to an individual’s “sincerely held religious beliefs unless it would pose an undue hardship,” the EEOC stressed.
EEOC said Wellpath denied Babineaux’s clothing request and revoked her job offer. She had previously been allowed to wear scrub skirts at other nursing jobs, including one where she worked at a juvenile correctional facility, according to the lawsuit.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In addition to providing Babineaux with “back pay and compensatory damages,” Wellpath will also provide its human resources employees with training and have “certain managers throughout Texas” trained on how to prevent discrimination. It will also offer religious accommodations, which includes “dress and grooming based on religion.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Wellpath for comment.
