Suit Says Faculty Applicant Was Blindsided By Religious Affiliation Requirement

AP reported yesterday on a lawsuit filed in state court in Portland, Oregon by a Jewish man who was ultimately not hired as an adjunct professor of psychology at the Christian-based Warner Pacific College.  While Oregon law allows a religious institution to hire on the basis of religion, applicant Noel M. King says that the school's job posting only said that applicants had to agree to respect Christ-centered values and Christian faith.  It did not say they had to be members of the Christian faith.  King says he went through a 4-month application process, three interviews and a teaching demonstration, and was recommended by the hiring committee who knew he was Jewish, before the school's president vetoed his hiring because of his religious affiliation. He asks for $268,000 in damages, claiming that he missed out on applying for other jobs while Warner Pacific strung him along.