Reference no: EM132349887

Employment Law

Mrs Vera, an Apostolic Christian, worked as sales associate at Nickels Department Store. One afternoon, during a break, Vera participated in a conversation about God, homosexuality, and same-sex marriages. The next day, an employee told the manager that Vera made inappropriate comments about gays to John, a Nickels employee who was gay. Over the next five weeks, Nickels investigated the incident by interviewing and obtaining statements from employees who were present during the conversation. In his statement, John reported that Vera pointed her finger and said that God does not accept gays, that gays should not be allowed to marry or have children, and that they will burn in hell. Three employees confirmed Vera's statements.

Nickels terminated Vera's employment after concluding she had engaged in serious harassment in violation of its Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy. This policy, of which Vera was aware, prohibits employees from engaging in conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as harassment based on an individual's status, including sexual orientation, and provides that employees who violate the policy will receive "coaching and/or other discipline, up to and including termination." Nickels has "zero tolerance" for harassment "regardless of whether such conduct rises to the level of unlawful discrimination or harassment" and treats serious harassment as gross misconduct and grounds for immediate termination.