Written by Don Byrd
A California law prohibits for-profit companies from discriminating based upon religion in hiring and firing. Little Oaks School, a for-profit religious school owned by Calvary Chapel, is challenging that law, claiming the First Amendment guarantees their right to fire 2 teachers who refuse to provide proof of faith.
“The question is ultimately, do the nondiscrimination rights of the teachers under state law trump the religious rights of the school under federal law?” Richard Kahdeman, a lawyer representing the church and school, told the Star.
Lawyers for Epps, Yong & Coulson, the firm representing the teachers, said the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act has been upheld in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts. In a prepared statement obtained by the newspaper, they portrayed the school’s lawsuit as a desperate attempt to “avoid the consequences of their illegal and discriminatory practices.”
The lawsuit filed by the school seeks to prevent the teachers from suing for employment discrimination.
