Pittsburgh, USA - A Christian college in western Pennsylvania and a faith-based coalition can use a state-sponsored job site specifically to hire Christians, according to the settlement of a religious discrimination suit.
Attorneys for Geneva College in Beaver Falls and the Association of Faith-Based Organizations of Springfield, Va., filed the federal suit over Pennsylvania's online CareerLink job listing site last December. The state and federal governments were named as defendants.
The plaintiffs argued they were wrongly denied use of the employment service, which includes an Internet-based service called CareerLink. The service has a nondiscrimination policy barring job postings that require applicants to have particular religious backgrounds.
"Religious job requirements can't be singled out for exclusion from a public job listing simply because they are religious," said Timothy J. Tracy, an attorney for the Christian Legal Society, who filed the suit along with the Alliance Defense Fund.
The settlement said Geneva could use the CareerLink site because the college does not receive federal Workforce Investment Act funding.