7.06.2006
Everyday Intolerance
This is the sort of thing that goes on all the time but is rarely reported on. A woman working as a accounts analyst for an insurance firm is doing well in her job, she recently received a bonus and was well-liked. Then she requests time off for a religious holiday. A Wiccan religious holiday. Suddenly her performance is poor and she isn't doing the job well enough, she is soon fired (and in many of these circumstances if not fired, the victims are "quitted" by being made miserable).
"Sommers, an accounts analyst, said when she requested a day off for a Wiccan holiday, she was told by a manager to keep her religion "to herself." She said another supervisor who knew she practiced Wicca called her a devil worshipper in front of other employees. Sommers said that before revealing her religion she received a favorable review and a bonus. But after her supervisors knew about Wicca, she started getting warnings and told she wasn't returning customer calls fast enough."
The only recourse in most of these cases is suing the company (in this case it is Crawford & Company Inc.) and contacting the press. Unfortunately most can't afford a lawyer, the ACLU is very selective about the cases it takes, and our anti-discrimination groups don't have the funds or resources to get lawyers for these cases. Some have worried that the "mainstreaming" of modern Paganism would create watered-down faiths. I worry more for those who choose these paths, experience illegal discrimination, and we aren't nearly "mainstreamed" enough to be able to protect our own.
Labels: Paganism
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