Wisconsin ski park faces lawsuit after allegedly firing employee for sharing Bible verses on social media

A Wisconsin snow park is facing a federal lawsuit that accuses it of firing a Christian employee for posting Bible verses on his personal social media account The U S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC filed a complaint against Crystal Ridge Ski Area LLC formerly known as The Rock Snowpark a winter sports park and summer events venue in Franklin Wisconsin on Wednesday Their complaint alleges the park discriminated against a former employee who worked there from January to June During his time of employment the Rock Snowpark employee frequently posted religious messages including Bible verses on his personal social media account the suit states On June Rock Snowpark s Operations Manager met with the individual and expressed concern that his posts were discriminatory to gay people and sought him to refrain from posting these statements When the employee requested if he could still post Bible verses the manager gave approval the suit says Three days later the employee posted another Bible verse on his personal social media and was terminated the same day JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TAKES ON SMALL IDAHO TOWN IN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM BATTLE OVER CHURCH PERMITThe EEOC complaint states the employee did not identify his workplace or claim to be representing the views of his employer on his social media account His posts were not directed at any employee of Rock Snowpark and the park did not receive any complaints about the posts the complaint asserts The employee had worked for the company for a year and a half before his termination during which time he received bonuses and was promoted for his excellent performance according to the lawsuit The EEOC filed the suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement the complaint explains The park is accused of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion The commission is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction restricting Crystal Ridge from engaging in any employment practices which discriminate on the basis of religion in violation of Title VII The commission asks the court to order the park to implement new policies to ensure equal employment opportunities regardless of religion The complaint also asks for the employee to receive backpay and compensatory and punitive damages for the alleged harms caused WISCONSIN MAN FIRED FOR REFUSING TO USE PREFERRED PRONOUNS APPEALS TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATIONThe commission is requesting a jury trial in the occurrence All employees have the right to earn a living free from discrimination based on their religious beliefs EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas revealed in a press release While employers must remain alert to possible harassment in the workplace religious statements made outside of work that do not reference or impact anyone in the workplace do not constitute unlawful harassment Crystal Ridge Ski Area advised Fox News Digital it had not yet been served the legal complaint but rejected the accusations First we want to make clear that we as an employer and member of the district treat all of our employees and customers equally and with respect regardless of who they are and what they believe the park commented We also expect all of our employees to similarly respect each other and the customers that we are here to serve Second we want to make clear that the internal employment decision that apparently led to the EEOC s lawsuit was not made on the basis of the employee s religious beliefs Rather it was a business decision based on performance issues and program violations they added saying they had no further comment on the matter