He teaches Sunday school at 9, greets people when they enter the sanctuary at 11 and helps collect the tithes and offerings during worship. So when his employer, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical of Clayton, N.C., ordered him to work on a Sunday two years ago, Stout not only said no, he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. This month, he and two former employees of the company also filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Novo Nordisk failed to accommodate their religious practice. The Sabbath is symbolic of the rest I have in Christ. Stout's suit against Novo Nordisk, an insulin manufacturer, highlights how Christians and other people of faith are insisting on their rights.
Federal laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion.
The country's newest religious communities also are challenging discrimination laws in unexpected ways. Muslims want their Friday noon prayers. Sikh men are insisting on wearing turbans at all times. Evangelical Christians want to display Bibles on their desks and to hold prayers during office breaks. Lawyers say they have seen an increase in religious discrimination suits.