THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300371
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Christopher Edwards has sued Norshipco, saying the shipyard violated his civil rights when it fired him after he refused Sunday work to observe the Sabbath, his lawyer said Friday.
Edwards was fired last year after not reporting for work Sunday, Nov. 6, 1994, the suit alleges. Edwards, who lives in Norfolk, had been refusing to work on Sundays since 1980 when he became a Baptist.
Edwards is being represented by the Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville-based nonprofit group that specializes in the defense of religious liberty.
The suit was filed Thursday in Norfolk's U.S. District Court.
``Norshipco basically refused to accommodate Edwards' Sabbath observance,'' said Dean Whitford, a staff attorney at the Rutherford Institute.
A Norshipco official said the shipyard had not received the suit yet and could not comment on it.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees unless an employer can show that doing so would cause an undue hardship on the company, Whitford said.
``These cases come along every couple of years,'' Whitford said. ``It seems like you have to reinforce the right. . . . Our interest is to sensitize employers such as Norshipco.''
Edwards had worked at the shipyard's Berkley plant as a machinist for 21 years. When he became a Baptist, Edwards decided could no longer work on ``The Lord's Day'' - Sunday, the suit alleges.
``It's a fairly straightforward case,'' Whitford said. ``It's a sincerely held belief that conflicts with a work requirement.''
Shipyards typically operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week when ship repair work is available and Norshipco is no exception.
The suit asks the court to force Norshipco to rehire Edwards, pay him lost wages and develop a shift policy for workers who wish to observe a Sabbath day.
The suit also alleges that Edwards was passed over for a promotion in 1990 because of his religious beliefs.
Since becoming a Baptist, Edwards had received 23 written warnings for not working on Sunday, the suit alleges. He was suspended three days in May 1991 for not working a Sunday.
As a result Edwards filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but the local office didn't pursue it and Edwards dropped the matter, Whitford said.
Edwards was suspended for five days in August 1992 for not working a Sunday, the suit alleges. He was suspended again in May 1994 when he refused to work on a Sunday.
He filed another EEOC complaint. While that complaint was being reviewed, Norshipco accommodated Edwards by letting him work extra hours during the week to make up for not working Sundays, the suit alleges.
Edwards was fired in November 1994 for not working as scheduled on a Sunday, the suit alleges.
``I don't know if they just got tired of accommodating him or what,'' Whitford said.
The EEOC dismissed Edwards' second complaint in September and the Rutherford Institute, which had been contacted by Edwards, stepped in to help.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT SABBATH SHIPYARD by CNB