DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997              TAG: 9703270431

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

STATE WORKER WINS $30,250 IN FEDERAL COURT

A former worker at the Virginia Department of Health in Hampton has won a $30,250 award after a federal jury found she had been subjected to religious harassment.

Sonya McIntyre-Handy, a Unitarian, had claimed that co-workers created a hostile work environment by holding prayer meetings at her desk and giving her religious pamphlets. A U.S. District Court jury agreed, awarding her the $30,250, attorney's fees and requesting that the state provide Handy with a letter of recommendation.

Deborah C. Waters, McIntyre-Handy's attorney, said employers have to adopt a balance regarding religious beliefs in the workplace ``that's frankly not an easy one.''

``They have to balance an employee's right of free speech and freedom of religion against another employee's right to be free from religious practices,'' Waters said. ``What the jury said is at some point religious practices can become obnoxious and unwanted.''

The state Attorney General's office, which represented the Health Department, was unavailable for comment. McIntyre-Handy has chosen to remain in the background and speak through Waters, Waters said.

Religious harassment is a growing issue in the workplace, according to the Society of Human Resource Management and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC reported 2,900 religious discrimination claims filed in 1994, a 31 percent increase from 1990. But the Society of Human Resource Management says that only 19 percent of the organizations it surveyed recently included religion as a component in their diversity training.

In McIntyre-Handy's case, the judge told the attorneys to treat the issues as ``new law,'' Waters said.

Testimony at the trial stated that her co-workers:

Left a ``Letter from Jesus'' on her desk.

Performed ``holy dances'' around her desk.

Gave her a pamphlet entitled ``How to Cast Out a Devil.''

After her work performance deteriorated, McIntyre-Handy was fired in May 1995. She has been out of work since, despite having filled out more than 100 job applications, Waters said.

``When it gets to the point of why she left her last job, that she filed discrimination charges, it has kept her from getting a job,'' Waters said. KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AWARD BIAS

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