Pagan Alleges Bias in Lawsuit

If there is religious discrimination here, then it is against the law. The court will have to sort it out. But this Star Tribune article references one of the more bizarre announcements by a prospective gubernatorial candidate, even more so than Jesse Ventura's:

Complaining that her ex-boss couldn't tell a witch from a pagan, the former companion of a self-proclaimed vampire who announced his candidacy for governor in January has accused a school district of religious discrimination in pushing to have her fired.

"They're the ones that gave me the witch name," said Julie Carpenter of Princeton, an avowed pagan who said she lost her job driving a bus for the Princeton School District.

Carpenter denied school district claims that she had identified herself as a witch to co-workers. She has filed a charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming she has been discriminated against because of her beliefs.

While federal law protects pagans against employer discrimination, the outcome of Carpenter's case could depend on whether the school district can show it had reasons other than religion for seeking to have her removed from the job, said Stephen Befort, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who specializes in public employment issues.

Carpenter's lawyer, Samuel Glover, released a letter Tuesday from school superintendent Mark Sleeper in which he urged the school's bus company to relieve her of her duties.

"... Ms Carpenter does not serve as a role model nor is suitable to perform transportation services for the Princeton School District," the letter, dated Jan. 13, said. It cited media reports about her companion, Jonathon (The Impaler) Sharkey, and his claims to be a vampire, and Carpenter "informing other bus garage employees that she is a witch."

Sleeper was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Glover said Carpenter later received a letter from the company terminating her employment.

"It's one thing to say you're not a proper role model because you're a vampire or a witch, and another thing to say it's really based upon a religious belief," Befort said.

Carpenter denied ever identifying herself as a witch. She says she wore a pagan pendant but otherwise didn't promote her beliefs or discuss them with children on the bus. She says that as a pagan she once belonged to a group of fellow believers similar to a congregation.

"I believe in a god and goddesses and their names can change for any given moment," she said. "This has been my belief since 1989."

In announcing his run for governor in January, Sharkey claimed he was a "satanic dark priest" and the leader of the "Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party." In an e-mail description of himself, he wrote, "I sink my fangs into the neck of my donor (at this time in my life, it is my wife, Julie), and drink their blood."

Sharkey and Carpenter were not legally married. Sharkey was jailed on an outstanding warrant from Indiana shortly after he announced his candidacy, and Carpenter says she no longer sees him.

She says her job performance was beyond reproach.

"I didn't even have one fight on my bus," she said.