Back in 2022, as reported here at DK, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a legal action against Aurora Pro Services of Greenville, North Carolina:
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least June 2020, the company required all employees to attend daily employer-led Christian prayer meetings. The meetings were conducted by the company owner and included Bible readings, Christian devotionals, and solicitation of prayer requests from employees. Aurora’s owner took roll before some of the meetings and reprimanded employees who did not attend. When a construction manager asked to be excused from the prayer portion of the meetings in the fall of 2020, the defendant company refused to accommodate the employee’s religious beliefs (atheist), cut his pay, and fired him. A few months later, in January 2021, Aurora terminated a customer service representative who stopped attending the prayer meetings because the meetings conflicted with her religious beliefs (agnostic).
That lawsuit has now ended with Aurora Pro Services agreeing to pay both lost wages and commissions to both dismissed employees to settle the matter. As Religion News Service reported earlier this month:
(RNS) — A North Carolina home repair company that advertises as “Grandmother Approved” has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by two employees who were fired for refusing to participate in daily Christian prayers.
The lawsuit, brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Aurora Pro Services of Greensboro, alleges the company created a religiously hostile work environment that constituted harassment on the basis of religion.
The $50,000 settlement was announced by the EEOC on Aug. 2. It consists of backpay to cover lost wages and commissions for both the fired employees. McGaha was to receive $37,500 and Saunders $12,500. [...] As part of the three-year agreement worked out in court, Aurora Pro cannot discriminate or retaliate against any employees going forward and must establish “a new anti-discrimination, non-retaliation, and religious accommodation policy and provide training to all managers and employees, including the owner.”
I’m glad to see these targeted employees receive just compensation, and I wish I could be the one to deliver the required “anti-discrimination, non-retaliation, and religious accommodation” training to the conservative Christian extremists running Aurora Pro Services.