No Free Exercise Claim For Limiting Disclosures to Clergyman

A Utah federal district court has held that the free exercise rights of Utah Department of Corrections employee Vivian Kosan were not violated when she was reprimanded for telling a religious leader about her charges of sexual harassment against Brandon Burr, one of her superiors in the Department of Corrections (DOC). In Kosan v. Utah Department of Corrections, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82122 (D UT, Nov. 2, 2007), the court rejected Kosan's claim that banning her from speaking to Burr's LDS Stake President substantially burdened her free exercise rights and targeted "religious orders that take a proactive approach to problems encountered by their members." The court said that the order to refrain from discussing the alleged harassment was not specifically directed to communications with clergy, but rather to communications with "anyone" regarding the allegations and their investigation, all treated as confidential under DOC policies.