Pagan sues Panera Bread Company alleging religious discrimination

[Silver Gaia]

A former baker for the chain said she was told that she “needed to find God," according to a court filing.

March 27, 2021
By Heather Greene

(RNS) — A Pennsylvania woman filed a lawsuit Wednesday (March 24) against Panera Bread Company, alleging that she was discriminated against and fired due to her Pagan beliefs.

Tammy McCoy of Clairton, Pennsylvania, was hired as a baker at the Panera location in nearby Pleasant Hills, a Pittsburgh suburb, in October 2019. According to the filing, she “never discussed her religion or religious beliefs at work” because she felt the subject was private.

Paganism is an umbrella term used for a number of different growing religious and spiritual practices centered on nature and magic.

According to the lawsuit, the subject of McCoy’s religion came up in late May of 2020, when McCoy was on break with the store’s assistant manager, Lori Show, and the manager, Kerri Ann Dubs. Show asked McCoy what her religion was, and Tammy responded, “I am Pagan.”

Show reportedly responded by telling McCoy that that she was going to hell and Dubs “vigorously nodded her head in agreement.”

MORE: https://religionnews.com/2021/03/27/pagan-sues-panera-bread-company-alleging-religious-discrimination/

[riversedge]

1. Her husband who also worked at Panera was also fired.....

.................A call to Panera’s corporate human resources went unanswered.

According to the lawsuit, the threats continued and turned violent, at times, creating a “hostile work environment.”

On July 27, McCoy said she was told to give notice that she was leaving her job. Both she and her husband, who also worked at Panera and was not otherwise mentioned in the case, were fired, according to the suit.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court, states that McCoy’s civil rights were violated under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

McCoy declined an interview. Panera did not answer a request for comment.

The Rev. Selena Fox, executive director of the Pagan civil rights organization Lady Liberty League and senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, has reached out to both McCoy and Panera Bread Company. .............................

[Silver Gaia]

2. Right.

I haven't heard about a case like this in a good, long while. I hope to hear how this one turns out.

[AllyCat]

13. Selena Fox. Isn't she from west of Madison area?

I remember hearing her name. She and her husband lead nature-worship celebrations but I cannot remember the town.

This is an interesting case. On the face, it sounds like blatant discrimination.

[niyad]

16. I am glad that Lady Liberty League reached out to them.

Interesting that I was jut thinking of Circle Sanctuary yesterday.

[Scrivener7]

3. I hope they get a big settlement. First of all, you KNOW the manager and assistant manager were

republiQans. So you KNOW they are out there spouting about getting government out of their business. Yet it's fine for them to force their beliefs on someone else.

Second, evangelical Christians are the most un-Christian, judgmental, cruel and hypocritical people on the face of the earth.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. +1

[RVN VET71]

5. I don't know. But I would like to know.

It sure fits the pattern: bigotry, intolerance, ignorance wielded like a club. But not only Republicans and not only Evangelicals display those traits.

[Scrivener7]

7. But they sure set the pace for it. Especially when decreeing what God wants to those whose beliefs

differ.

[RVN VET71]

11. I think the description of the harassment fits the Evangelical docket

If there was no verbal and threatening push back from either of the fired people, and if Panera doesn’t attempt to fabricate something, I’d say there’s going to be a large settlement here. Often these kinds of complaints are reduced to a “he said she said” thing. Evangelicals, of course, would never lie or fabricate a story! But even Evangelicals might give pause before lying under oath.

I’m curious about the district manager’s alleged (that word again!) piling on, and the action taken against the husband, redolent as it is of the Colonels Vindman’s treatment by Donald Trump.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

6. exactly

[PatSeg]

8. Oh my, how very Christian of them

And what the hell were they thinking, even asking an employee what their religion was in the first place? Is there no training for management at Panera Bread?

[Scrivener7]

9. Apparently not, because it was an assistant manager, a manager and a district manager who

thought it was just fine to decree what the woman should believe.

[PatSeg]

14. What decade are these people living in? The 1960s?

One person in management making that mistake is bad enough, but THREE is ridiculous.

[Scrivener7]

31. The morons have been totally emboldened.

[PatSeg]

32. There sure has been a lot of that the past four years

[Celerity]

29. It actually is very 'christian' of them

Many agressive christians (especially in the US, but it's a global thing) are some of the least intelligent and shittiest people I have ever met, seen in action, or read about.

Also, many christian apologists fail right off the bat with 'no true Scotsman' fallacies.

[Desert_Leslie]

10. None of their business

THEY brought up religion ... probably because this lady wasn't constantly saying how "blessed" she felt all the time. Makes me roll my eyes.

I have had THREE "friends" walk away from our friendships about religion.

One) 9th grade. My friend attended a Pentecostal church. I mentioned to her one day the news that had come out about the Dead Sea Scrolls showing new and unknown books of the Bible. In my naivete, I thought it was a cool new discovery. She stared at me, turned around and walked away. She never spoke to me again.

Two) While at lunch with two paralegal friends religion somehow came up and I just smiled and said, "I guess I'm a Buddhist ... spiritual but not religious." That did it for the friendship.

Sorry for the ranting. It hurt at the time, and probably to this day. Plus, these actions seem un-Christian to me. But that's just me.

[PatSeg]

18. I've done stuff like that with hardcore fundamentalists

I've told them I was a Buddhist and/or I believed in reincarnation. They really don't know what to do with that because they are so unworldly. They know so little about other cultures and have no real desire to learn. In their safe little bubble, everyone is a Christian or a sinner. It has never dawned on them to question what they've been taught, which I've always found bizarre, as I've questioned pretty much everything I've been told for as long as I can remember.

You are right. Their actions truly are very un-Christian, at least if they'd ever bothered to really pay attention to what Jesus said in that bible they like to use as the last word on everything. Eventually, I found it more effective to use their own scriptures against them. If that is the last word, then how can they refute it? Of course, some of them do, but I have had others shut up and go away, even a Southern Baptist minister. That's okay, I know he probably prayed for me for a very long time!

I get so tired of devout Christians cherry-picking the bible to confirm their own prejudices and ignoring the ones they disagree with.

[Siwsan]

22. I've always told the door to door evangelical proselytizers that I'm an Orthodox Druid

That most definitely causes them to turn around and leave me in peace.

[PatSeg]

26. Oh yes, telling them something exotic and strange

tends to throw them off. They come equipped with scripted responses to any disagreements they may encounter, but no one prepared them for Druids or Buddhists. Their playbook is so predictable and redundant, even I know most of it by heart.

On a rare occasion when I was in a good mood, however, I have actually engaged them in a meaningful conversation. They would even thank me for my time and leave smiling. I think some of them, especially the younger ones, get so used to having the door slammed in their face, it is pleasant to have someone talk to them, even though I made it quite clear I was not going to join their church ever.

If you can get them off the damn script, some of them can be quite engaging. I believe it would start when I would agree with something that they said, but not in the same context. That actually sparked their interest.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

34. I will never forget

When we got mormons to taste coffee.

My ex and I talked in an open way and told them why we are not christian,let alone mormon. We brought up the racism and history of the church and asked them if it was christ like behavior. We really knocked a hole in thier absolute obedience to the church. I was happy to do it. We were freindly not confrontational we made them feel at ease even with the big statue of Baphomet on our coffee table..

I hope they left the cult and can freely believe whatever they want and live well.

[PatSeg]

35. I think that is the key

To not be confrontational or defensive. Genuine friendliness and kindness is a universal icebreaker, as long as all parties are polite and considerate. Some of these people were hungry for real human connections, open and sincere conversation. Instead of contradicting and rejecting everything they said, I found common ground, while still not necessarily accepting their doctrine. I saw eyes light up. They probably weren't used to such meaningful debate and exchanges that came without judgment or criticism.

We live in such a divisive world where we often focus on our differences more than our commonalities. Once you feed the divisiveness, it only grows, usually out of proportion to the original disagreement. This friendly outreach does not work all the time with all people. I've known a few who are obnoxiously evangelical in their approach and do not listen to anything other than the dogmatic script running through their head. I find such behavior rude and unacceptable and I have better things to do with my life.

I love that you got them to taste coffee. I figure that at least we've planted seeds that may some day take root. If not, we are better people for the exchange.

[Historic NY]

12. So let me guess this probably not a company store but one of their franchises.

[PatSeg]

19. I was thinking the same thing

[Historic NY]

24. There is a group out there that own most ofthe franchises...

and have had problems in the past.

[PatSeg]

28. That is such a shame

as I've always liked Panera Bread, but this sort of thing is a major turnoff. It puts them right up there with Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-a.

[bucolic_frolic]

20. I can think of a national franchise retail chain

that advertised for franchisee opportunities for married couples as late as a few years ago. Photos of the franchisees would be posted in the store. Their marketing still says 'family' and 'spouses' but now includes siblings and friends who are 'raising families'.

Sounds ripe for discrimination to me.

[rickyhall]

15. And that's where you should say, as I have many times, "None of your goddamned business."

[Mr. Steve]

23. Absolutely

I have former friends who avoid me, some from back in high school because I have nothing to do with the belief system we shared then; I am 75 years old now. These former friends still parrot the hell and damnation line we were all fed, and cannot seem to move away. None of these former friends served in the military; I am a disabled veteran from the Vietnam War. None of these ever had to face their own destruction or have their concepts challenged. Would that they did. With challenges, come the opportunities for each one to answer in his own way.

[niyad]

17. Adding Panera Bread to my growing boycott list.

[PatSeg]

21. "....that there has been a noticeable uptick in discrimination over the past four years."

Hmm, I wonder what happened in the past "four years" that has caused so much reactionary behavior.

[multigraincracker]

25. I'm happy to see it go to court, so someone can read

read Matthew 7:1-3 to them. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged, For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you," Those words in Red that go unread by the hypocrite.

[PatSeg]

27. Oh yes, one of my favorites

If they refute it, then they are refuting their bible and their savior. There is no reading between the lines on most of what Jesus taught, but so often the "nonbelievers" understand him better than devout Christians.

[multigraincracker]

30. Ask them about those words in Red,

the Beatitudes.

[RKP5637]

33. Another outfit to add to my list to avoid! n/t