Jury Awards $280,000 In Religious Employment Discrimination Suit

The Albuquerque (NM) Journal today reported on federal court jury verdict handed down last month in a New Mexico federal district court against the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority awarding $180,000 in actual damages and $100,000 in punitive damages to an employee who claimed he was denied promotion because of his religious beliefs. James Chávez, a senior engineer, said he was passed over for promotion 17 times since 2006 because he resisted the religious proselytizing of his supervisor, John Stomp.  The suit charged that Stomp, a devoutly religious Christian, tried to get Chavez to attend his church and on one occasion gave him a Bible. The jury, however, rejected Chavez's other claim alleging racial discrimination claim.