Posted On:
June 2, 2008
"Harry Potter" and Religious Discrimination
Employment law issues can arise from seemingly innocuous events. In a recent complaint, Smith v. Thomas and the City of Poplar Bluff, a library assistant alleged that the Poplar Bluff Public Library intentionally discriminated against her based on her religion.
The librarian had refused to participate in the library’s “Harry Potter Night,” which promoted one of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels, on the grounds that the promotion violated her sincerely-held religious beliefs against the worship of the occult. She alleges that as a result, the defendant retaliated by reducing her hours and reassigning her to physically demanding tasks beyond the scope of her regular job description.
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