Walmart Workers Cannot Tell Gay Colleagues They Are 'Going To Hell' Based On Religious Beliefs: Court

Tanisha Matthews, a self-identified Apostolic Christian, sued her former paycheck writers at Walmart for discriminating against her religious beliefs (and violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act) just because back in September 2005, she screamed at a lesbian co-worker that God hates gays, that gays should not "be on earth," will "go to hell," and are not "right in the head."

The Illinois store where she worked as an overnight stocker terminated her, because hey, anti-gay harassment isn't cool. In suing the retail giant, Matthews argued that she needed to be able to attack homosexuals on the job, because it's part of her religion.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed: "If Matthews is arguing that Wal-Mart must permit her to admonish gays at work to accommodate her religion, the claim fails. Moreover, Wal-Mart fired her because she violated company policy when she harassed a coworker, not because of her beliefs, and employers need not relieve workers from complying with neutral workplace rules as a religious accommodation if it would create an undue hardship."