A proposed class action alleges Churchome unlawfully forces employees to tithe 10 percent of their income back to the Washington-based megachurch.
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The 17-page lawsuit claims Churchome, lead pastors Judah and Chelsea Smith and CEO David Kroll have engaged in a “systemic scheme of wage and hour abuse” whereby employees are required to rebate 10 percent of their paychecks back to the church each month or face “actual or threatened pressure, discipline, or termination.”
According to the case, Churchhome is prohibited under Washington law from making deductions from an employee’s wages for its own financial benefit.
As the complaint tells it, Churchome’s employee handbook states that workers are expected to “[tithe] and be generous with your time, finances, and other resources,” and that the church may “take corrective action, up to and including termination” if employees do not meet these standards.
The plaintiff, a Churchome employee hired in December 2019, says that the defendants did not mention the church’s tithing requirement in its public job posting, throughout the application process or during orientation. The lawsuit adds that the defendants continue to omit this companywide policy from current job postings and their website.
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