Atheist worker who refused to attend NC company prayer meetings wins $37,000, feds say

After a home repair company in North Carolina fired a construction manager over his refusal to attend daily Christian prayer sessions at work, a federal lawsuit followed, according to court records.

The former employee, who is atheist, initially attended the mandatory sessions — involving Bible readings and occasional prayer requests “for poor performing employees” — that began increasing in length, lasting around 45 minutes or more, a complaint filed in federal court says.

The owner of Aurora Pro Services told him “he did not have to believe in God, and he did not have to like the prayer meetings, but he had to participate” before the worker refused to attend the meetings altogether and was fired over it in the fall of 2020, McClatchy News previously reported.

A few months later, the Greensboro-based business fired a customer service representative, who is agnostic, in January 2021 after she stopped attending the prayer sessions, according to the complaint. An agnostic individual does not commit to any view regarding the existence of a higher religious power.

This former employee felt the meetings were becoming “cult-like” and went against her beliefs, the complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says.

Now, Aurora Pro Services has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the lawsuit accusing it of religious discrimination, harassment and retaliation on behalf of the former employees, the EEOC announced in an Aug. 2 news release.

As a result, the company owes the former construction manager $37,500 in attorney fees, back pay for lost wages and compensatory damages, according to a consent decree filed Aug. 2.

The company also owes the former customer service representative $12,500 in back pay and compensatory damages, the consent decree shows.

McClatchy News contacted attorneys representing Aurora Pro Services for comment on Aug. 2 and didn’t immediately receive a response.

“Federal law protects employees from having to choose between their sincerely held religious beliefs and their jobs,” Melinda C. Dugas, a regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District, said in a statement. “Employers who sponsor prayer meetings in the workplace have a legal obligation to accommodate employees whose personal religious beliefs conflict with the company’s practice.”

Before the former construction manager refused to attend the meetings entirely, he had offered to attend portions of them, according to the EEOC.

However, his boss said “it would be in his ‘best interest’” to attend the sessions in their entirety and was even asked to lead the prayer on at least one occasion, the complaint says.

The atheist worker’s objections led to his base pay getting cut in half on Sept. 3, 2020 — from $800 to $400 per week — ahead of his firing, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit accused Aurora Pro Services of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects workers from religious discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

As part of the three-year consent decree, Aurora Pro Services cannot discriminate or retaliate against any employees going forward and must establish “a new anti-discrimination, non-retaliation, and religious accommodation policy and provide training to all managers and employees, including the owner,” the release said.

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