Tavis Rogers, former project director for Newmont Mining Corp., filed a lawsuit last week against the corporation in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The suit alleges religious discrimination and retaliation over Rogers’ request for an exemption to the vaccine mandate against COVID-19, announced by the corporation on Nov. 2, 2021.
The suit alleges that Newmont denied Rogers’ accommodation request on Jan. 2, 2022, and terminated his employment effective Jan. 31, 2022.
The lawsuit, filed by Denver-based attorney Steven Murray, alleges Newmont discriminated against Rogers by repeatedly probing the details of his “sincerely held” religious faith.
“We will not comment on the specifics of any lawsuit pertaining to our COVID-19 vaccine requirement, other than to state that both CC&V and Newmont fully complied with the law with respect to the vaccine requirement,” said Katie Blake, sustainability & external Relations Manager for Newmont’s Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. “We will continue to vigorously defend any challenge to the vaccine requirement, which was critical to protecting the health and safety of our workforce during the pandemic.”
The lawsuit states that Rogers would have continued working in the same manner as before, that he was working remotely, performing his duties successfully.
According to Murray, Rogers did not work for Newmont in Cripple Creek but reported directly to Newmont’s headquarters in Denver. He lived in Colorado and worked remotely, until he was fired. He now lives in Arizona.
In the suit, Murray argues that Newmont’s denial of Rogers’ request for exemption violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The suit is the second filed by Murray against Newmont. In April, nine former employees of CCV sued the corporation after being denied a request to be exempt from the vaccine mandate. The suit alleges religious discrimination and retaliation over their termination.
The nine former employees are Richard Grenfell, his brother Les Grenfell and his daughter, Katalyn Grenfell, Phillip Leck, Jonathan Elliott, Cody Schwab, Gordon Mundell, Austin Morris, and Dwayne Johnson.
“These are hard-working people who do labor-intensive work,” said Murray, speaking to the Courier in April. “These are not officers but laborers.”
The lawsuit is pending, according to a release from Murray’s office.
Original Article: https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/former-project-director-sues-newmont-mining-corp/article_cfbdff6c-7fe1-11ee-9b42-e773d91ee2f5.html
