Son sues father for discrimination

Steven Sarenpa’s father and stepmother were critical of Steven’s separation from his wife, and of his new girlfriend. Steven claims they yelled at him and called him a sinner for his adultery. But Steven wasn’t just their son–he was also their employee, so he’s sued his parents for religious and marital status discrimination in Minnesota […]

Steven Sarenpa’s father and stepmother were critical of Steven’s separation from his wife, and of his new girlfriend. Steven claims they yelled at him and called him a sinner for his adultery. But Steven wasn’t just their son–he was also their employee, so he’s sued his parents for religious and marital status discrimination in Minnesota federal court. The theory seems to be that parents lose the legal ability to express unhappiness with children in certain ways if they’re all part of a family business sufficiently large enough to be subject to federal anti-discrimination law. The parents argue that the fact that Steven’s wife and her uncle also worked at the company created workplace tension (especially when his girlfriend would drive him to work during his wife’s shift), and say that’s why they asked Steven to take some time off. (H.J. Cummins, “Son sues father after leaving job, marriage”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 26) (via Romenesko).

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