Well this is something else…
A woman is suing money guru and nationwide financial advice-giver Dave Ramsey after she got fired from his company, Ramsey Solutions, for… being pregnant??
Related: Meghan Markle Wins Another Lawsuit!
According to media reports, the woman, identified as Caitlin O’Connor, previously worked as an administrative assistant four years ago for the financial outfit. During that time, she became pregnant “with her long-term partner,” per the reports, and naturally, she asked her bosses for the paperwork so she could take maternity leave.
But according to her lawsuit, she wasn’t granted leave — she was straight-up fired!
WTF?!
Lawyers for the company aren’t denying it, either. In fact, they are citing company policy — Ramsey himself is an evangelical Christian — that states employees may not have s*x outside of marriage! Citing their own documents, the lawyers confirmed that since O’Connor was unmarried at the time of her pregnancy, she’d violated one of the company’s 14 core values for “righteous living,” and therefore deserved to be fired.
In fact, per The Tennessean, the company lawyers doubled down on that policy, claiming they’ve actually fired “at least twelve other employees” for violating that same core value! And since Tennessee is an at-will employee state — that is, workers can be fired for any reason — company lawyers claim the lawsuit is unjustified since it is “neither discriminatory nor retaliatory.”
Related: James Franco Reaches Settlement In Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit
O’Connor’s lawyers may have found a loophole, though. According to the local news coverage of the lawsuit, her legal team pointed out that Ramsey’s company doesn’t explicitly list pre-marital s*x as being against the rules in its company handbook. Furthermore, the handbook is vague about exactly what constitutes “righteous living.” And when pressed to be more specific, Ramsey’s legal team called the request “vague and irrelevant.” Uhhh, what?!
In the legal complaint, the woman’s lawyers are contending that O’Connor herself is a Christian, but not one who believes her religion ought to be “punitive, hateful, vengeful, or judgmental.” Thus they are crying foul on Ramsey’s policies, and claiming in court docs (below):
“[O’Connor’s] view of Christianity does not require her to invade or inquire or know the specifics of what other people do or do not do in their bedroom or when they do it, much less pass morality judgement on other people.”
Amen! Literally…
In response, according to NBC News, the financial guru’s team filed a motion arguing to dismiss the lawsuit. In it, they pointed to an email O’Connor herself sent to the company’s human resources department while still employed in which she acknowledged that “being unmarried and expecting is frowned upon here.”
Related: Vanessa Bryant Files Damning New Evidence Against Mother’s Lawsuit
That, company lawyers claim, is “nothing more than an acknowledgement of Defendant’s premarital sex ban and admission that she violated it.” Ooookay… What do U make of Ramsey’s stance on pre-marital s*x, Perezcious readers?? Should this be something companies fire employees over?!
Sound OFF with your take on the matter down in the comments (below)…
[Image via The Ramsey Show/YouTube]
Related Posts
