Fired After Accusing Ford of 'Endorsing, Protecting' Sodomy, Engineer Sues

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

A contract engineer who was fired last year after defending his religious beliefs is suing his employer, Troy-based Rapid Global Business Solutions, as well as Ford Motor Co., which had assigned him to its Dearborn plant for more than three years.

Thomas Banks, of Ypsilanti, claimed in his lawsuit filed U.S. District Court last week that his civil rights were violated, both under the federal civil rights law and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from firing or otherwise discriminating against individuals because of “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status.”

A Christian, Banks previously filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming he was fired after accusing Ford of “endorsing and protecting sodomy,” the Detroit Free Press reports. In the comments section of an article the automaker had placed on its intranet explaining policies to make Ford an LGBT-friendly corporation, Banks wrote:

“Endorsing and promoting sodomy is of benefit to no one. This topic is disruptive to the workplace and is an assault on Christians and morality, as well as antithetical to our design and our survival. Immoral sexual conduct should not be a topic for an automotive manufacturer to endorse or promote.”

Banks said in a statement at the time of his EEOC complaint, filed on his behalf by the nonprofit Liberty Institute, that he was “ stunned to realize that I was fired over expressing my faith in a single comment.”

The EEOC decided not to pursue the claim.

Banks’ lawsuit seeks an unspecified monetary judgment for loss of wages, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, shame and anxiety.

According to the federal court petition, Banks supports workplace inclusion and diversity.

“Banks respects others, even those who disagree with him, as he has throughout his career, and merely hopes for the same respect in turn,” the complaint says.

Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act protects individuals whose religious freedoms are violated, but sexual orientation and gender expression are not protected classes. Numerous attempts to expand the law have failed.

Photo of Ford Motor Co.’s world headquarters via Flickr/Creative Commons