Two former employees of a family-owned North Carolina HVAC and roofing company have sued the company through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming the owner of the company fired them after they refused to participate in mandated prayer services at the start of the day, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
The lawsuit alleges that a construction manager who is atheist and a customer service rep who is agnostic were forced by the owner of the company to participate in the prayer sessions, which could run from 15 minutes to a full hour.
During the sessions, the owner of Greensboro’s Aurora Pro Services would read Bible verses, lead the employees in prayers and hymns, and ask the group to pray to help God assist underperforming employees, who he would call out by name.
Both employees asked to be excused from the evangelical grooming because it violated their own beliefs, but the owner of the company informed them that they didn’t have to like going to them, but it was mandatory to participate.
After the two employees complained individually, they were each fired. The construction manager was specifically fired for refusing to participate in the prayer sessions, while the customer service rep was told she was “not a good fit” for the company.