On May 8, 2013, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000 against Dynamic Medical Services, Inc. The EEOC brought the matter on behalf of several salespeople employed by Dynamic Medical Services, a medical and chiropractic practice, and asked the court for injunctive and monetary relief on their behalf. Plaintiffs alleged disparate treatment based on religion and a hostile working environment. Three named employees later intervened in the case as plaintiffs on their own behalf, alleging retaliation under Florida state law.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that the salespeople at Dynamic Medical Services were coerced into adopting Scientology religious views and practices. The complaint states that they were required to attend weekly meetings consisting of Scientology readings and practices and coerced into attending meetings at the local Church of Scientology; one plaintiff alleges a retaliatory firing for not doing so. Examples of Scientology practices here include screaming at an ashtray and staring silently at another person for eight hours.

In filing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, defendants argued that the Scientology practices in question were actually business training methods, and thus not the basis for a claim under the Civil Rights Act. Further, defendants contended that plaintiffs failed to allege that employees articulated sincerely held religious beliefs in conflict with the practices or provide evidence of disparate treatment.

On December 20, 2013, the District Court (Judge Kathleen M. Williams) issued a consent decree approving a settlement in the case. Dynamic Medical Services agreed to pay $170,000 in compensatory damages and consented to a variety of injunctive measures, including development of policies of nondiscrimination, accommodation, and reporting. The District Court retained jurisdiction to enforce this decree for four years.

Eric Cole - 03/09/2015
- 03/09/2015


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