Panel files suit for city driver alleging discrimination

By Tasha Kates

Published: October 10, 2008

A federal panel has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former Charlottesville-area driver who said he was fired because of his religion.

The suit, which was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission late last month against Ohio-based Cardinal Health Inc., alleges that the company tried to require driver Howard Thompson to work on rotating Sundays. Thompson, who is a Sabbatarian, has a religious belief that he can’t work on that day, said Tracy Hudson Spicer, the supervising trial attorney on the case.

“He was not provided with a reasonable accommodation,” Spicer said. “He lost his job because of that.”

Thompson worked for the company’s city-based pharmacy services facility for more than three years before he was fired in April 2006. Spicer said the commission took up the lawsuit after investigating a discrimination charge and trying to resolve the issue with Cardinal Health.

The suit, which alleges that Cardinal Health violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, asks for the company to require religious accommodation and to pay unspecified damages to Thompson.

Troy Kirkpatrick, a spokesman for Cardinal Health, said the business is confident that it complied with all laws.

“Cardinal Health is committed to being an equal opportunity employer and respecting all employees’ religions,” Kirkpatrick said. “Cardinal Health did offer reasonable accommodations, but Mr. Thompson refused them.”

Kirkpatrick did not elaborate on the proposed terms.

By law, a business has to make reasonable accommodations for the religious practices of employees unless it can show undue hardship. As long as someone could fill the job of the person who can’t work because of religious beliefs, the company can accommodate that person, said John W. Whitehead, founder of the Albemarle County-based Rutherford Institute.

“The larger the company, the more that they can’t show an undue hardship,” said Whitehead, who also is the president of the human rights and civil liberties organization. “We’ve had Sabbatarian cases with them, and they’ll lose almost every time. The smaller the company, the tougher the issue becomes.”

On its Web site, Cardinal Health describes itself as “an $87 billion global manufacturer and distributor of medical and surgical supplies and technologies.” The company sells its products to pharmacies, hospitals and individual healthcare providers.

Whitehead said some companies don’t understand Sabbatarians’ beliefs, and why they’d be willing to lose their job over not working. In his experience, Whitehead said most Sabbatarians are flexible with their work hours as long as they can have their beliefs respected.

Thompson could not be reached for comment for this story.

Spicer said she has seen an increase in religious cases coming before the commission.

“I think that we’ve seen a large number of charges overall because people are more aware of their rights,” Spicer said.