Milwaukee, Wisconsin — In a type of lawsuit I haven’t seen before in the ski industry, a former employee of a Wisconsin ski area is suing the operator over discrimination based on his religious background.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it is suing Crystal Ridge over an alleged termination of an employee over his religious beliefs. Crystal Ridge disputes this narrative, claiming that social media posts made by the employee were discriminatory.
While working at Crystal Ridge (formerly known as The Rock Snowpark), the employee frequently shared religious messages on his personal (not affiliated with the ski area) social media pages. This included Bible verses and faith-based posts. At one point, it’s alleged that a supervisor requested that the employee stop sharing them. The employee refused and continued sharing posts regarding his religious beliefs. The employee was fired three days after that meeting with the supervisor.
“All employees have the right to earn a living free from discrimination based on their religious beliefs,” said Andrea Lucas, who’s the Acting Chair of the EEOC. “While employers must remain alert to potential 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.”
The USEEOC alleges that by firing the employee, the ski resort was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An attempt was made to reach a settlement between the two sides, but it now appears likely that the case will head to trial. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division.
There’s another side to this story, though. Crystal Ridge told us that certain social media posts were “discriminatory in nature.” Crystal Ridge issued the following statement to us:
“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 policy violations.
We also want to make it clear that we, as an employer and member of the community, treat all of our employees and customers equally and with respect, regardless of who they are and what they believe. We also expect all of our employees to similarly respect each other and the customers that we are here to serve.”
Image Credits: Crystal Ridge Ski Area
