ConocoPhillips To Pay $20,000 To Settle Religious-Bias Case

ConocoPhillips (COP) agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that accused the oil giant of discriminating against a worker who claimed he was refused a schedule change so he could attend church on Sunday mornings.

The company will pay Clarence Taylor, a 34-year pipe fitter at its Bayway Refinery in New Jersey, $7,500 and provide him with five days of additional vacation leave. ConocoPhillips is also paying $12,500 to a charity selected by Taylor, a foodbank.

ConocoPhillips denied liability and didn't admit any unlawful conduct or wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2007 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, asserted Taylor was involuntarily placed on a 12-week assignment requiring him to work Sunday mornings. Because he is a congregation leader, he asked superiors that his schedule be modified so he could continue to attend services.

According to the lawsuit, the only option ConocoPhillips gave Taylor was to use his vacation time, which would have been depleted by the end of the three-month shift. While his first two vacation requests were granted, ConocoPhillips refused Taylor's next request, and he couldn't attend services for two months, according to the lawsuit.

In 2007, The Associated Press quoted Spencer H. Lewis, district director of the EEOC's New York district office, as saying: "If reasonable alternatives exist, the law does not allow an employer to force an employee to choose between keeping his job and practicing his faith." Lewis added: "ConocoPhillips did not meet its obligation to explore non-disruptive alternatives, such as job swapping, that could have accommodated this man's religious practices."

A ConocoPhillips spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658; [e-mail]

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