The AP reports that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Vonage Holdings Corp. on Tuesday, alleging the company discriminated against a Jewish employee by failing to accommodate his need for religious observances.

The EEOC alleges Vonage and its Vonage America Inc. unit didn’t allow Mikhail Rozenberg, an Orthodox Jew, to participate in training because he had to miss time to observe Jewish holidays in fall 2005 and didn’t accommodate his request for a schedule where he didn’t work on Saturdays in order to observe the Sabbath. Rozenberg, who was hired as a technical service agent in September 2005, was eventually terminated because of his religion, according to the lawsuit. “Defendants’ management representative told Rozenberg, ‘You will not fit here,’ and that when he stopped practicing his religion, he could come back,” the lawsuit alleges.

It’s amazing that some employers continue these practices, until you realize that the state of the law allows them to. That’s why the OU/IPA and a broad coalition of groups are working to get Congress to enact the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. “WRFA” will protect people like Mr. Rozenberg.

Call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to support WRFA.

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