Lawsuit says jobs at risk for staff who don't donate
Does a church have a first amendment right to restrict employment to employees that pay 10% of their wages back?
A lawsuit has been filed against Churchome, a Kirkland, WA-based church with celebrity members like Russell Wilson and Justin Bieber, accusing the organization of requiring its employees to donate a portion of their earnings to the church or risk losing their jobs. The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court last week by Churchome employee Rachel Kellogg, alleges that the church and its leaders engaged in a "systemic scheme of wage and hour abuse" against their employees. Kellogg claims that employees were required to give 10% of their gross earned wages per month as an offering and that failure to do so could result in pressure, discipline, or termination.
Kellogg worked in video and production for Churchome and says she was not informed of the policy until after she was hired in 2019. The lawsuit argues that the practice violates Washington state's Consumer Protection Act and wage and hour laws. Kellogg's attorneys at Seattle's Terrell Marshall Law Group say that regardless of whether Churchome is a church or not, requiring employees to rebate any wages to an employer is an unlawful practice.
The lawsuit includes communications between Kellogg and employees who mention the need for her to tithe, as well as a reprimand from her supervisor for not adhering to the church's policy on tithing. According to...
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