His boss told him to go to Bible study — then fired him when he said no, lawsuit says

For 34-year-old Ryan Coleman, his “church is a sweat lodge, his bible is a drum, and that’s his form of worship to the creator,” his attorney Corinne Schram said, according to NPR.

But when Coleman, who is half Native American, took a job at Dahled Up Construction, he was uncomfortable with one of the work requirements: weekly attendance at Christian Bible study meetings, the site reported.

Now Coleman is seeking $800,000 after he says he was fired for refusing to attend the meetings because they conflicted with his religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 22 in Linn County, Oregon.

The lawsuit says Coleman was hired in October 2017 and was “a hard-working employee and dedicated to his job.” After he was hired, he learned about the requirement to attend Bible study courses, the lawsuit says, even though he was “not a practicing Christian.”

Coleman told the owner, Joel Dahl, that he was uncomfortable with attending and that he believed it was illegal for him to be forced to attend, the lawsuit says. But Dahl told him he had to go or he would be replaced, according to the lawsuit.

Believing he “had no other choice,” Coleman attended the meetings until April of 2018, when he again complained about the meetings to Dahl, according to the lawsuit.

“I said ‘I’ve kept an open mind, and it’s just not my thing.’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m going to have to replace you,’ Coleman said, according to the Oregonian.

Around the time of that conversation, Cole says he was fired, according to the lawsuit. Now he says he suffered religious discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, the lawsuit says.

“(Dahl) said, ‘You’re not going to tell me how to run my own company,’” Coleman said, according to the Oregonian. “I said, ‘I’m not trying to tell you how to run your own company, but you’re not going to tell me what god to pray to.’”

Dahl and his attorney told The Oregonian and NPR that they did not dispute that employees were required to attend Bible study meetings., and insisted they were legal because the employees were paid for their time.

“Mr. Dahl feels that it’s unfortunate that he (Coleman) is now trying to exploit Mr. Dahl’s honorable intentions for unjustified financial gain,” Dahl’s lawyer Kent Hickam told The Oregonian.

Dahl’s said he was a “second-chance” employer who made a point to hire felons, including Coleman, who had served time on child neglect and drug charges, NPR reported.

“It was arranged through a pastor to provide some appropriate motivation for them to stay the course. To maintain their recovery,” Hickam said, according to NPR.

The company’s Facebook page is no longer visible.

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 5:27 AM.