Busted: Lawsuit against Christian finance guru over 'righteous living' policy gets green light

19 June

Radio host Dave Ramsey in May 2023 (Gage Skidmore)

A federal appeals court is letting a mom sue Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey over an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

Religion News reports Caitlin O’Connor's case against Ramsey’s Lampo Group is back in court now that the court has accepted the issue as being over allegations of religious discrimination. Lampo Group claims O’Connor was fired for violating the company’s ban on premarital sex, however, and argues the firing was not based on religion.

A federal judge initially agreed with the Lampo Group’s argument, but later changed his mind and ruled in O’Connor’s favor last week.

Ramsey Solutions imposes a “righteous living” policy at Lampo, which requires employees to abide by Christian values. Those values include banning intercourse outside of marriage. But court documents suggest the company has allowed some sex outside of marriage, namely adultery by male employees.

The legal root of the case, says Religion News, lies in whether O’Connor was fired for breaking a company regulation or for being a bad Christian.

“Construed in favor of Defendant as required, the Amended Complaint alleges not that Plaintiff was terminated for violating a company policy against premarital sex, but rather that she was terminated for engaging in behavior that conflicted with — failed to adhere to— ‘traditional Judeo-Christian values or teaching,’” wrote U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, ruling in O’Connor’s favor.

Richardson opines that companies are allowed to ban certain conduct, but the motivation behind the rules of conduct and how they are applied must hold weight.

The case caught media attention when O’Connor filed it in 2020 due to Ramsey’s interest in employees’ sex lives. In 2022, Ramsey Solutions settled an unrelated discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who said she was fired after coming out as gay. Additional documents show the company fired a newly married employee who may have become pregnant before the wedding, according to Religion News.

This would not be the first case a federal appeals court allowed a Ramsey-related religious discrimination case to move up through the courts, Religion News reports. Ramsey, who was critical of COVID-19 shutdowns, fired video editor Brad Amos over a clash on how religion should be applied in the work environment. Court documents show the company fired Amos for refusing to adhere to Ramsey’s demand that employees disregard social distancing and other precautions, but Amos argued his faith required him to abide by social distancing and safety suggestions.

See the full Religion News report at this link.