Ozarks Electric Cooperative settled out of court a federal religious discrimination lawsuit for $95,000.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission represented Julia Solis, an employee who claimed she was denied a day off to attend a Jehovah’s Witness convention and was fired when she chose to attend the convention rather than report to work.
The commission contended the company failed to provide Solis with a reasonable religious accommodation and fired her because of her religious beliefs in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Employees are faced with many choices throughout their careers, but having to choose between their religion and their work should never be one of those choices,” Faye Williams, an attorney with the commission’s Memphis office, said.
The company denied it engaged in any unlawful employment practices or that it violated provisions of the Civil Rights Act.
“We have entered into this compromise agreement solely to avoid the uncertainty of litigation and expending additional resources that belong to our members,” Mitchell Johnson, president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement Monday.
The consent decree settling the case does not constitute a finding on the merits of the case and does not constitute an admission by Ozarks Electric, according to court documents.
In addition to the monetary settlement, U.S. District Judge Jimm Hendren required the company to modify its leave policy to include an appeals process for employees who feel they are being denied religious accommodation. Ozarks Electric also is required to train employees about religious discrimination, submit reports for two years to the commission and post a notice reinforcing the company’s policies on Title VII and its procedures for reporting and preventing discrimination in the workplace.
Ozarks Electric is a nonprofit corporation, part of Touchstone Energy Cooperative, that provides electric power to 68,000 members in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma. It has offices in Fayetteville, Springdale, Stilwell, Okla., and Westville, Okla.