Company accused of mandatory prayer

The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·1 min read
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Jun. 28—GUILFORD COUNTY — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a home service and repair company based in Greensboro for requiring employees to take part in religious activities.

Aurora Renovations and Developments, doing business as Aurora Pro Services, required employees to participate in Christian prayer sessions and retaliated against employees who opposed the practice, the EEOC said in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.

The prayer meetings, conducted since at least June 2020, were led by the company owner and included Bible readings, Christian devotionals and solicitation of prayer requests from employees, the EEOC said. Aurora's owner took roll before some of the meetings and reprimanded employees who did not attend.

After a construction manager who was an atheist asked to be excused from the prayer portion of the meetings in the fall of 2020, he was fired, the EEOC said.

In January 2021, Aurora fired a customer service representative who stopped attending the prayer meetings because she was agnostic.

The EEOC said it seeking monetary relief for the two fired employees, including compensatory and punitive damages, and an injunction against the company to end any ongoing discrimination based on religion and to take steps to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future.