by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(May 23, 2008) A systems engineer and devout Christian employee of a leading aerospace and defense company is suing the company for firing him after he refused to participate in a diversity training program because it required him to accept, celebrate and embrace homosexuality.
Thomas Meeker worked as a systems engineer at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa facility of Rockwell Collins, Inc. since 1985. In May, 2007, he was directed to complete a computer-based diversity training initiative that promoted homosexuality and required employees to accept it.
According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, after expressing his objections to the training, Meeker was placed on unpaid leave and ordered to attend a meeting with members of Rockwell Collins’ human resources department. During this meeting, he asked to be excused from any diversity training that conflicted with his religious beliefs concerning homosexuality, but the company refused his request and continued his suspension from work.
Meeker received another letter from Rockwell Collins asserting that the company was only asking Meeker to treat his co-workers with respect. It also informed him that he could return to work if he were willing to behave in accordance with company policies and participate in all company-mandated training; if not, Rockwell Collins would deem him to have voluntarily resigned.
Unwilling to resign, Meeker returned to work but informed his manager that he could not agree to participate in all required training. He was immediately ordered to leave the facility. A week later, he received a letter from Rockwell Collins terminating his employment on the grounds that “we believe that you are unwilling to treat gay or lesbian co-workers with respect in the workplace.”
The letter also stated that Meeker’s refusal to participate in all training “impedes your ability to perform your job in a manner consistent with our Standards of Business Conduct policy.”
In filing suit on his behalf, attorneys at The Rutherford Institute allege that Rockwell Collins violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a comparable provision of Iowa law when it refused to grant Meeker’s request to be exempted from aspects of the company’s diversity training that conflicted with his religious beliefs about homosexuality. They also allege that Rockwell Collins erroneously presumed that Meeker’s religious beliefs would prevent him from treating other employees with respect, even though there was no evidence supporting this assumption.
“This case has to do with the freedom of conscience—the right of individuals to object to something they believe is wrong, especially when it contradicts their religious beliefs, whether it is war, abortion, homosexuality or a number of other issues,” stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.
“This is just one case among many in which employees continue to be wrongfully denied accommodation and the right to freedom of conscience because of their religious beliefs—rights guaranteed both under federal law and under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
A spokesperson for Rockwell Collins refused to comment on the case.
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