Monday, April 8, 2019

The 10th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the exorcising employer


Is it too early to declare a winner for 2019's contest?

According to the complaint Jason Fields fired against the Hampton Inn at which he worked, and its manager, Sharon Lindon, he had to endure some pretty odd stuff during his employment.

As he tells his story, Lindon decided to help Field's after she learned of his impending divorce. How? By offering to exorcise him.

I can't do this story any better justice than how Field's describes it in his lawsuit:

Lindon told the Plaintiff that the reason for his marital problems was that he had demons.
Lindon told the Plaintiff that if he were going to work for her he had to be cleansed.

Lindon told the Plaintiff she had been cleansed three or four times and it was similar to an exorcism.

The Plaintiff was also given a packet of papers by Lindon to be completed and turned in. The packet contained 1 page of instructions, 2 pages containing a release and indemnity agreement, and 9 pages of questions.…
The Plaintiff was told once he had completed the questionnaire, he would need to meet Lindon at the church and have a cleansing performed.…

The Plaintiff refused to participate in any exorcism.

After the Plaintiff refused to complete the form, and then after he completed it, but refused to give it to Lindon, and then refused to participate in a cleansing, (1) his shift was changed, (2) his job duties changed, (3) he was not allowed to take his days off, (4) he was threatened daily concerning the loss of his job, and (5) he did not receive a raise.     

Fields ultimately quit.

What information did Lindon pressure Fields to provide? 

For starters, workplace-inappropriate information about his religious beliefs and practices:

  • What is your church background? 
  • Briefly explain your conversion experience. 
  • In one word, who is Jesus Christ to you? 
  • What does the blood of Calvary mean to you? 
  • What is your prayer life like? 
  • Were you conceived out of wedlock? 

And then stuff just got weird:

  • Have you, your parents or grandparents been in any cults?
  • Have you ever made a pact with the devil?
  • Have you ever visited heathen temples?
  • Do you have any witches, such as “good luck kitchen witches,” in your home?

And then downright off-the-rails offensive:

  • Do you have lustful thoughts? 
  • To your knowledge, was their evidence of lust in your family line? 
  • Do you frequently masturbate? 
  • Have you ever been a victim of incest by a family member? 
  • Have you ever committed incest, rape or molested anyone?
  • Have you ever committed fornication, adultery, been with prostitutes, had homosexual or lesbian desires or experience? 
  • Have you ever sexually fantasized about an animal?
  • Have you been in involved in oral or anal sex? 
  • Have you fathered a child that has been aborted? 
  • Has pornography ever attracted you? 
  • Do you have desires of having sex with a child?

While these are merely unproven allegations in a complaint, Fields should be an award winning fantasy author if these allegations are untrue. I'm a defense lawyer, trained to look at an employee's allegations with a healthy dose of skepticism. But, does anyone think, after reading Field's allegations, that this didn't happen? Who could make this up? Fields alleges that he "has the form and will produce it."

Thus, even if just part of this happened, this employer has well earned its nomination as the Worst Employer of 2019.
  
Thanks to Eric Meyer, who brought this doozy to my attention.