- Oct 17, 2011
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Torres said he was fired from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office after declining to train a new female hire alone — a violation of his Christian beliefs under the so-called Billy Graham rule. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in North Carolina federal court, the former deputy is now seeking more than $300,000 in damages for religious discrimination.
“Torres holds the strong and sincere religious belief that the Holy Bible prohibits him, as a married man, from being alone for extended periods with a female who is not his wife,” the suit states.
“The job duty of training female deputies, in such a manner, violates (Torres’) religious beliefs against being alone for periods of time with female(s) who is/are not his wife and leaving the appearance of sinful conduct on his part,” the suit states.
Torres said he asked for a religious accommodation that would exempt him from the training in July 2017, according to the lawsuit, but he said his sergeant ultimately denied the request.
Note that we only have his side of things. But let's assume he's right that this is why he was fired. And certainly there may be issues of whether the sheriffs did what they needed to do in terms of accommodation and whether they did what they shouldn't have done in regards to his claim of retaliation.
But after the training, when she was on the force, certainly his job duty might involve working with her. Is it a reasonable accommodation to make sure he is never partnered with a female officer? Or can employers say, "We hire both men and women; if you can't work with someone, then maybe you can't work here."
“Torres holds the strong and sincere religious belief that the Holy Bible prohibits him, as a married man, from being alone for extended periods with a female who is not his wife,” the suit states.
“The job duty of training female deputies, in such a manner, violates (Torres’) religious beliefs against being alone for periods of time with female(s) who is/are not his wife and leaving the appearance of sinful conduct on his part,” the suit states.
Torres said he asked for a religious accommodation that would exempt him from the training in July 2017, according to the lawsuit, but he said his sergeant ultimately denied the request.
Note that we only have his side of things. But let's assume he's right that this is why he was fired. And certainly there may be issues of whether the sheriffs did what they needed to do in terms of accommodation and whether they did what they shouldn't have done in regards to his claim of retaliation.
But after the training, when she was on the force, certainly his job duty might involve working with her. Is it a reasonable accommodation to make sure he is never partnered with a female officer? Or can employers say, "We hire both men and women; if you can't work with someone, then maybe you can't work here."