A television producer's lawsuit says her former employer fired her after she complained about the company including scriptures inside paycheck envelopes and promoting Bible study at the office.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Rozanne Sonneborn also alleged WJMK Television Productions president Mark Kielar withheld two weeks severance pay because she wouldn't drop a complaint of religious discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
WJMK attorney Joe Curley said Sonneborn was fired last year because of the sluggish economy.
"Her claims do not have any merit," Curley said. "That will be proven in court."
WJMK produces secular programs for cable television. According to the lawsuit, Kielar — a fundamentalist Christian who also owns a Christian TV station — tried to impose his religious beliefs on employees.
Sonneborn, described in the lawsuit as Jewish and nonreligious, alleged WJMK employees felt that going along with religious practices like voluntary Bible study sessions would help advance their careers.
Curley said Bible passages the Boca Raton company included with its paychecks were Old Testament proverbs meant to be inspirational, and dismissed charges that Kielar was trying to impose his religious beliefs on employees.
"(Kielar) is a religious person with a strong faith and convictions, but there are a number of people who are Jewish who work there, as well as other religions," Curley said.