Mo. woman says employer retaliated after Harry Potter dispute

By BETSY TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer


ST. LOUIS --The ACLU filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a southeast Missouri city after a former library worker claimed she was wrongly disciplined when she refused to work at an event to promote a Harry Potter book due to her religious beliefs.

The woman, Deborah Smith, is a Southern Baptist who believes the Harry Potter books "popularize witchcraft and the practice of the occult," said Anthony Rothert, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri.

Smith worked as a part-time library assistant at the Poplar Bluff Public Library for more than a year, but said she could not take part in a July 20, 2007, event to mark the release of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" book by J.K. Rowling the next day. In the wildly popular Harry Potter books, children have magic powers. Library employees were expected to dress as witches and wizards at the event, Rothert said.

He said Smith was suspended for 10 days without pay when she refused to work at the event, which was held outside of the library's normal hours. Smith, who has a pacemaker, did tasks like checking out library patrons' books and answering phones prior to the dispute.
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The lawsuit filed in federal court in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday alleges violations of her civil, 1st and 14th Amendment rights, alleging her right to free exercise of religion was violated. It seeks unspecified damages. It also names the library's director, Jacqueline Thomas, as a party being sued. A listed number could not be located for Thomas after business hours.
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"Government employers must respect individuals' religious beliefs," said Brenda Jones, executive director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, in a statement. "Federal law requires accommodation of religious beliefs so that every citizen's religious liberty is safeguarded."

The ACLU is very consistent, and have no problem defending right wingers.

of the ACLU?

conservatives don't let facts get in the way of their beliefs and prejudices. In the black and white world they live in (which is mostly white), since the ACLU also defends non-Christians, it is evil and wrong, even though it defends them as well.

Sadly, I doubt this woman's viewpoint of the ACLU has changed despite them helping her, but that is pure speculation on my part.

has a pacemaker.. like that has shit to do with the story.. One would have to hear the case before making judgement.. this story presents one side of the story. I don't think Harry Potter is going to create a bunch of mini-witches.. I think that the woman is listening to the likes of Ann Coulter.. For a librarian, she is quite out of touch with the idea of reading and fun and imagination and creativity.. Perhaps she wishes for more to just sit and watch t.v. I think that her firing might have more to do with inability to relate and reach out to children.. I suppose she also objects to Halloween?

outside of library hours if it offends her religion or harms her body or whatever.

How would you like it if you were a librarian forced to work outside of normal working hours to promote the latest Ann Coulter book?

Maybe she can't reach out to children, but there is no hard evidence of that in the story.

alone. which is why they go to a judge or jury.

as part of her job, but supposedly in retaliation, and claimed she was forced to quit because of her health problems.

However, as a librarian, she should have been encouraging children to read, and not acted as censor, or, at the very least, a filter of reading matter.

They could have still asked her to work the event without dressing up, and that's what she objected to. I'm sure she has no problem processing whatever books people bring to the checkout desk.

her condition.


"Upon her return, she her hours were cut and she was given more labor-intensive tasks, like emptying out a book drop-off box, he said. Rothert said she quit on her doctor's recommendation."

Interesting case. Try to post an update once a decision is made.. hours can be reduced for part-time help anyway.. esp. if budget constraints are a problem.. and perhaps they were short staffed, so they asked her to help out with the book cart.. She sounds like a one of those problem employees that complains for everyting and brings down the morale of the rest of the workers... AND if she is that disabled that putting away books at a library (a normal librarian role) was too hard, then she should be retired or on disability or something.

that she would find objectionable based on her religious beliefs.

But then she wasn't asked to promote the others.

While I think it's marvelous the way Ms. Rowlings' books have attracted youngsters to reading and find fantasies about wizardry venial at worst, Ms. Smith is within her rights and the library was wrong to compel her to participate in the event.

The ACLU is right in taking her case. It's not an issue of her refusing to check out Harry Potter books to library guests, which is part of a librarian's job, its because she didn't want to dress up like a witch or wizard for a special event.

required), but emptying out a book drop and shelving were part of "other duties as assigned." Even in the huge system I worked for, even degreed librarians (that would be MLS holders) would help to shelve and clean out backlogs when necessary.

That's just part of the job and if she wasn't able to do that, I'm not certain why the ACLU found THIS particular case the one to take. :shrug:

Predictably. :eyes:

http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=47466

I've worked in libraries years. When the last Potter book was released, my library system had several branches open at midnight so that the patrons could pick up their books as soon as possible. It was considered quite an honor to be one of the "chosen" workers that night. The "chosen" bragged and planned their costumes. I find it hard to believe that this library couldn't find an enthusiastic employee to work this event.

The most dangerous place in the library in between a children's librarian and a silly hat or costume.

:rofl:

I love em, but they do like their costumes.:silly:

Bleh.

They wouldn't make the jump to Harry Potter being "evil" unless some authority figure made the argument. Some of them believe Halloween is evil and don't let their kids trick or treat.