By Phil Riske | Managing Editor
Keith Connolly, a Queen Creek software engineer alleges he was the target of religious discrimination by GoDaddy, a Scottsdale-based Internet domain company.
Connolly said that after several interviews, he received a boiler-plate rejection e-mail that Rose Law Group Employment Law attorney David Weissman called a “smoking gun.”
“About Keith he’s great for the job in skills but he looks worse for wear do we really want an obeese (sic) Christian? Is that what our new image requires of us,” KTAR reported
Connolly said his weight issues have resulted from of a childhood tumor that kept him from being able to walk properly until he reached adulthood.
His attorney said the e-mail rejection pretty much said GoDaddy was not hiring Connolly because he is “an obese Christian.”
Weissman said the purported ‘smoking gun’ in the case would be every employer’s worst nightmare.
“I understand that GoDaddy has since issued a statement indicating it believes the offending e-mail was fabricated and may seek legal recourse of its own, so there may be more to this story, Weissman said.
Weissman says companies first and foremost should always base their hiring decisions on legitimate business criteria, not on factors such as religion or a perceived disability.
“Second, always carefully read your e-mails before hitting the send button; it can save you and your company from major embarrassment and potential liability, and a failure to do so could cost you your job,” he said.
Employees should not sit on their rights, Weissman said, because the time periods for asserting employment-related claims can be short.
Though Connolly wanted sue GoDaddy, Connolly “apparently waited nearly a year before mentioning anything to a lawyer about the e-mail he (allegedly) received, and at that point, it was too late for him to pursue a claim,” Weissman wrote. “Don’t sit on your rights,” he advised employees.
UPDATE: GoDaddy: Discriminatory email never sent to potential hire
