Fired Ohio Employees Settle Their Religoius Discrimination Suit

A settlement was filed with the Ohio Court of Claims yesterday in a suit against the state by three former employees who made up the entire staff of the Ohio Workers' Compensation Council.  The former employees-- two staff attorneys and an executive assistant-- accused the Council's director Virginia McInerney of religious discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment and retaliation.  They claimed that McInerney, who believed she had been placed in her director's position by God, led the staff in prayer and asked an employee to listen to and take notes on God at Work CDs. McInerney also complained that a Senate resolution seeking to privatize the Bureau of Workers' Compensation was "another of Satan's efforts to stall or impede the council's progress." According to the Columbus Dispatch, two of the employees will receive over $20,000 each in the settlement and the third will receive over $12,000. The state will also pay their $15,000 in attorneys' fees. (See prior related posting.)