The woman is taking action against her former employer over allegations that she was fired for misinterpreting a fellow employee.
Jocelyn Borden, a former store manager at Bath & Bodyworks locations in Utah, was reportedly fired for “refusing to adhere to the company’s pronoun policy due to her religious beliefs,” according to the conservative law firm Fast Liberty Institute.
Boden’s lawyers filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC). This was when first senior advisor to freedom Stephanie Taub pledged to push back what she considers as an illegal move by the company.
“She’s been the store manager for over three years,” Taub told CBN News of Boden. “And when transgender employees started working in her shop… Jocelyn was willing to treat her well, treat her like everyone else, and use her name and nickname. But the only problem is, she couldn’t use pronouns in ways that contradict her religious and moral beliefs.”
She continued. “And so there were human resources complaints filed and they were immediately investigated and fired.”
The termination reportedly unfolded in May, with discrimination claims for the pronoun issue that is said to be at the heart of the dismissal. The lawyers had no “interactive process.” There was no effort to work with Borden to find accommodation or mid-way locations.
“It was ‘You’ll have to use these pronouns or you’ll be fired,'” Taub accused. “And when it was clear that she could not use these because of her religious and moral beliefs, they just fired her.”
She explained how she believes the company should handle the situation.
“Bath & Bodyworks should have found a way to respect all our employees and find ways to meet our ideals of inclusion and tolerance,” Taub said. “The simple solution was to allow Jocelyn to use names instead of pronouns, or even allow them to use names that match her religious beliefs, or pronouns that match her religious beliefs.”
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First Liberty believes that the dismissal is “violating both state and federal law,” which led to the EEOC’s charges. Taub explained that individuals who want to file a lawsuit must file a lawsuit before federal courts pass the EEOC, a federal agency that enforces and protects employment rights.
Taub hopes that the EEOC will take up the Boden case and ultimately First Liberty will be able to stand up for her and other employees in various contexts where they are believed to be abused.
“We need to make the law more clear here,” she said.
As for Boden, Taub said her clients are more than “are willing to take this position because they were unable to violate her principles.”
“She had to choose between her faith and her job,” she said. “And she chose her faith and chose to remain true to it.”
A Bath & Body Works spokesperson responded to an investigation into the CBN News case with a statement regarding the company’s position on discrimination.
“Bath & Bodyworks complies with all laws relating to employment practices,” it read. “As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate against managing our associates based on our protected status.”
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