Christian College Professor May Proceed With Discrimination Claims

In Baiyasi v. Delta College, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65715 (ED MI, May 10, 2012), a Michigan federal district court permitted former college science professor, Stephanie Baiyasi, to proceed with religious discrimination claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The suit claims that the chair of the college's science division made anti-Christian statements and rejected "creation science" beliefs. While rejecting a hostile work environment claim, the court permitted plaintiff to proceed with her contentions that she was denied tenure and then terminated because of her religious beliefs, and that the that she was denied tenure in retaliation for her complaints about religious discrimination to Human Resources and the President of the College.