An Arlington, Texas veterinary clinic agreed earlier this month to pay $150,000 to six employees who claimed in a suit backed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the company unlawfully pressured employees to subscribe to beliefs of the Church of Scientology (EEOC v. I-20 Animal Medical Center, N.D. Tex, 398CV2316-X, settlement approved 12/2/99).
In a complaint filed Sept. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, EEOC alleged that I-20 Animal Medical Center violated religious discrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint charged that I-20 subjected non-scientologist employees to disparate treatment, failed to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs of non-scientologist employees, and retaliated against workers who opposed what they believed were unlawful employment practices.
