Source: Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-wiccan06.html

On July 6, 2006 the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "A Schaumburg company allegedly fired a woman, and one employee is accused of calling her a 'devil worshipper' after she disclosed she practiced Wicca -- a pagan religion viewed by some as witchcraft.

Now, the woman is suing.

Rebecca Sommers said the company fired her in 2004, citing poor job performance. She had worked with the firm since 2002.

But Sommers insists in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that Crawford & Company Inc. fired her because supervisors there didn't like her religion.

Crawford is a Georgia-based insurance adjusting firm with an office in Schaumburg. Representatives there could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Sommers, an accounts analyst, said when she requested a day off for a Wiccan holiday, she was told by a manager to keep her religion 'to herself.' She said another supervisor who knew she practiced Wicca called her a devil worshipper in front of other employees.

Sommers said that before revealing her religion she received a favorable review and a bonus. But after her supervisors knew about Wicca, she started getting warnings and told she wasn't returning customer calls fast enough. Sommers is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages."