The excerpt below is from a Court Opinion out of Arizona. Now, I know JWs are not the only people who have Bible Studies, or shun people, etc, but does anyone else get the feeling these people are JWs?
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FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY¶2 MIGS is a plastic products manufacturing company located
in Clarkdale, Arizona. The Stevensons are the sole stockholders of
MIGS, and Mike Stevenson is the CEO of the company. Mr. Cummins,
who is blind, was hired by MIGS in September 1994. After a brief
stint in the Art Department, Mr. Cummins was transferred to the
Management Information Systems (MIS) Department, where he input
data and performed network maintenance.¶3 The plaintiffs contend that in the fall of 1995, Arthur
Brault, a MIGS employee, told Mr. Cummins that Mike Stevenson wanted him to copy Bible study software onto Brault's computer
system. Mr. Cummins refused to do so on the basis that it may
constitute an illegal copying of software. Mr. Cummins advised his
supervisor, Mel Smart, of the incident, and, according to Mr.
Cummins, Mr. Smart agreed that it was an inappropriate request and
advised him not to copy the software.¶4 Shortly thereafter, Chris Eymann, a MIGS employee and the
Stevensons' son-in-law, requested Mr. Cummins' assistance in
copying Stevenson's Bible study software onto Brault's computer.
Again, Mr. Cummins refused, explaining he did not believe such
copying was appropriate under the copyright laws. The parties
never addressed whether any licenses existed that would permit the
software to be copied.
¶5 The plaintiffs assert that, over the course of the six to
seven months following these two incidents, MIGS' employees and
Mike Stevenson engaged in a course of conduct that amounted to
intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful
termination of Mr. Cummins. The plaintiffs complain, inter alia,
that employees at MIGS began to shun Mr. Cummins, that management
approved vacation time and then reversed its position, that Mr.
Cummins' position was changed from that of a salaried employee to
an hourly employee, that he was no longer allowed to accrue
overtime, that Mike Stevenson openly chastised and rebuked him in
an off-site Bible study, that his network security access was
revoked, that his job description was changed to include activities
that he could not perform, that management instituted a policy that Mr. Cummins perceived applied only to him, that he was given no
meaningful work, that his hours were reduced, and that he was
eventually terminated. By contrast, MIGS claimed that Mr. Cummins'
termination was due to company downsizing.¶6 The plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against the defendants,
alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrongful discharge in violation of
public policy against handicap and religious discrimination,
intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the
Arizona Civil Rights Act,...