Legal Question in Employment Law in Iowa

Re: Religious employee

First, I assume that when the male worker (MW) applied for employment with Walmart, he was aware of the fact that some Walmart supervisory employees are females.

At the time MW applied for employment, did he advise Walmart that it was against his religious beliefs to be a subordinate employee to a female supervisor? Or did he just go ahead and accept the job without making that disclosure. If the latter, than he voluntary placed himself in the position of being supervised by a female supervisor. He cannot now be heard to complain. (If you voluntarily and intentionally walk out in front of a moving vehicle, knowing that you are going to get run over, and you end up getting run over, you can't sue the fellow who ran you over.)

Second, while MW has a right to whatever religious BELIEFS he desires, he does not necessarily have the right to PRACTICE those beliefs. Suppose he belonged to a religion that believed in polygamy (multiple wives at the same time)? Would he then be immune from the state law that outlaws polygamy and make bigamy a felony offense? After all, if such a law applies to him, it would certainly bar his right to "freedom of religion." What if MW's religion believed in animal sacrifice in order to appease God? Would it be OK to tie dogs to the stake and set them on fire? Or should MW and his fellow congregants be allowed to do that?

In firing MW, Walmart did not engage in any "actionable conduct" that would lend itself to a lawsuit. There was no religious discrimination here. Rather, there was employee insubordinate to the reasonable demands of the job and the reasonable working conditions incidental to the normal commercial operations and business practices of a retail store.

Next time MW applies for a job, he needs to be sure to explain to the prospective employer that his religious beliefs preclude him from being assigned to a position in which he would be subordinate to a female supervior. And if the prospective employer cannot accomodate that requirement, he should then seek employment elsewhere. Or perhaps convert to a different religion or religious denomination.