Employees Accuse Christian Coalition of Discrimination By Christine Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer June 25, 2001
(CNSNews.com) - The Christian Coalition has been accused of racial discrimination by 13 current and former employees who have taken their claim to federal court.
According to the plaintiffs' attorney, black clerical workers were asked to enter the office through a back door, segregated into a separate lunch area and excluded from inaugural celebrations and an office Christmas party hosted by the coalition.
The lawsuit also alleges the Coalition retaliated against the black workers after they filed the lawsuit by first shortening their work hours and then requiring them to work extra hours to catch up.
"What was going on, and is still going on, is the black employees ... are treated differently than the white staff," said Jon S. Nicholas of the Washington law firm Dilworth Paxson, which represents the plaintiffs.
Nicholas expects the judge to set a schedule by July 2 for the case, originally filed in February, to proceed.
The lawsuit also includes an allegation by a former white employee of the Coalition that he was fired after he refused a request by management to "spy" on the black workers.
"I'm sure the Christian Coalition didn't mean to do anything wrong," said a prominent conservative activist, who asked to remain anonymous.
"It sounds to me like it's an abusive lawsuit. I have no clue whether they did something inappropriate or whether it's just an effort by people reading [in] the papers that you could sue and get jillions of dollars. They probably wrongly think the Coalition has a lot of money," the source said.
The Coalition's fundraising has reportedly tanked since 1997, dropping from $15.8 million to $2.9 million in the space of a few years. The group has since decided to cancel its annual "Road to Victory" conference in Washington, D.C. this year.
Nicholas, a self-described conservative Republican, said that before filing the lawsuit he tried to engage Coalition officials in mediation talks.
"I met them and initially thought we should be able to go in there and talk to them and get everything resolved," he said. "It just hasn't worked out that way. We contacted their attorneys privately. Very shortly afterwards, our clients were told to stay home from work."
Evangelical minister Pat Robertson founded the Christian Coalition in 1989 with the purpose of getting Christians more active in politics.
The Coalition rose to prominence under the leadership of conservative activist Ralph Reed but lost some political clout, along with many of the organization's employees, after he left in 1997.
The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.
Christian Coalition Executive Director Roberta Combs did not return calls for comment at press time.