[in Your State]
The Vampire, the Pagan, and the Letter

A bus driver in Minnesota is suing the Princeton School District for religious discrimination, saying the school superintendent got her fired from the bus company for which she worked by implying she was a witch. Yes, a witch.

Julie Carpenter says she is no witch and that she is, in fact, a pagan, arguing that she was discriminated against because of her religious beliefs, the Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St.Paul) reports. She has filed a religious-bias complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the newspaper notes.

Her attorney showed the newspaper a letter that he said school Superintendent Mark Sleeper sent to the bus company to urge it to fire Carpenter.

The letter cites instances in which Carpenter informed "other bus garage employees that she is a witch."

Carpenter says the allegations in the letter are false. She says she is a pagan, a worshiper of a polytheistic religion.

"I believe in a god and goddesses and their names can change for any given moment," Carpenter told the newspaper. "This has been my belief since 1989."

The letter said that Carpenter was unsuitable to serve as bus driver.

"Ms. Carpenter does not serve as a role model nor is suitable to perform transportation services for the Princeton School District ," the letter said.

The letter also noted that Carpenter was once in a relationship with Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, who is running for governor and claims to be a vampire, the newspaper reports.

Source: Star Tribune

When must employers provide a reasonable accommodation for religious practices? Find the answer in BLR's What to Do About Personnel Problems in [Your State].

 
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