First Liberty Briefing: Company Discriminates Against Woman’s Religious Beliefs

The Akebono Brake Corportaion hired Clintoria Burnett in 2014 to fulfill the job of Washer Inspector. But when her religious beliefs prohibit her from wearing pants, the company sought to withdraw their offer of employment.

Thank you for joining us for the First Liberty Briefing, an exclusive podcast where host Jeremy Dys—also First Liberty Senior Counsel—provides an insider’s look at the stories, cases, people and laws that have made America the world’s leader in protecting religious liberty.

The Akebono Brake Corporation hired Clintoria Burnett in 2014 at one of its South Carolina automotive brake manufacturing locations as a temporary worker. Burnett is adherent to the Apostolic Faith Church of God and True Holiness. Her faith requires that you cannot wear pants; and even since she was a small child, she has worn only skirts and dresses. When Burnett received the offer for the job of Washer Inspector, she was wearing an ankle length skirt. When she was told that she would have wear pants to perform her job, the company withdrew their offer of employment.

According to the complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the company failed to engage in any form of interactive process regarding a religious accommodation for Burnett and failed to consider any potential accommodation of Burnett’s religious believes.

Once an employer knows of employee’s religion, it is required by law to at least make an effort to accommodate or demonstrate why such an accommodation work an undue hardship on the business. Companies often have difficulty staffing positions and safety regulations can make that task even more difficult. Yet, it is vital that companies maintain our national commitment to religious liberty and human dignity by at least trying to find a way to accommodate an employee’s religious liberty at the jobsite.

To learn how First Liberty is protecting religious liberties for all Americans, visit FirstLiberty.org.

First Liberty Institute is the largest organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom for all Americans. Find out more here.

(This podcast is by First Liberty Briefing. Discovered by e² media network and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not e² media network, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)