Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Suit Challenges Dismissal For Praying At Work By Speaking In Tongues
The New York Daily News reports on a federal lawsuit filed in Brooklyn yesterday by a former New York Department of Environmental Protection police officer. Plaintiff Jerome Boswell was taken in handcuffs to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation and dismissed from his position after he began to pray by "speaking in tongues." Boswell, a Pentecostal Christian, was discussing with a fellow employee their lack of a labor contract. Boswell said he was leaving the issue to God, and his co-worker responded that they had no contract because God is not powerful. Boswell took this as blasphemy, told his co-worker to repent and began the prayer in question. Boswell's lawsuit asks for back pay and $2 million in punitive damages for religious and perceived mental illness discrimination.
Labels:
Employment discrimination,
Pentecostal