Walmart Worker Allegedly Fired For Praying


A Walmart worker is claiming she was fired for praying with customers.

KMBZ reports that Anhue Doan, 59, was employed as a retail pharmacist at a Walmart in the city of Bakersfield, California. She is now suing the retail titan for religious discrimination after being fired for reasons she believes are directly related to her Christian faith.

The former employee claims that she was caught on the store’s camera interacting with a customer and was consequently released from her position. Doan says this instance merely involved touching a patient and talking to her, not praying. She feels the incident was misconstrued by Walmart.

Darren Harris, the attorney representing Doan in her lawsuit, says his client has acknowledged that at times she has prayed with customers at their request. She continues to deny that praying was involved in this particular case.

An article by ABC News states that the retail chain has not commented on exactly what caused Doan to be fired. Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove issued the following in a statement:

“[Walmart] has a zero tolerance policy with respect to harassment or discrimination, including religious discrimination. We make reasonable accommodations for religious reasons. We have not had an opportunity to review the lawsuit. We will thoroughly investigate the allegations that are being raised once we receive the complaint.”

Doan began her employment at the store in 2006. Courthouse News Service writes that in June of 2011 she sent an email to her supervisor about co-workers who were engaging in a large number of illegal activities. The allegations ranged from “not following DEA requirements for controlled substances” to “cashiers providing medication to customers without pharmacist supervision.”

Shortly thereafter Doan received disciplinary action for admitting that she would pray for customers and tell them to “be healed”. Court documents claim she was told that she would face termination if she continued the practice.

The worker claims that in December of 2011 she was confronted by her district manager regarding the surveillance tape footage and terminated.

Doan has since been unable to find employment and claims she suffers psychological and emotional distress resulting from the incident.

Walmart is the largest employer in the United States with over one million employees domestically.

Do you think Walmart should be allowed to fire workers for praying with customers?

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