Managers and the Legal Environment 7th Edition by David Madsen, Constance Bagley

Exercise 2

Beginning in 1996, Tanisha Matthews, an Apostolic Christian, worked as an overnight stocker at Wal-Mart's store in Joliet, Illinois. In September 2005, during a break in the overnight shift, Matthews took part in a conversation about God and homosexuality. The next day an employee informed a manager that Matthews had made inappropriate comments about gays to a gay employee named Amy. Over the next three months, Wal-Mart investigated the incident by interviewing and obtaining statements from employees who were present during the conversation. In her statement, Amy reported that Matthews was "screaming over her" that God does not accept gays, they should not "be on earth," and they will "go to hell" because they are not "right in the head." Five other employees confirmed that Matthews had said that gays are sinners and are going to hell.
Wal-Mart fired Matthews after concluding that she had engaged in serious harassment in violation of Wal-Mart's Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy. This policy, which Matthews was aware of at the time of the incident, prohibits employees from engaging in conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as harassment based on an individual's status, including sexual orientation, and provides that employees who violate the policy will receive "coaching and/or other discipline, up to and including termination." Wal-Mart has a "zero tolerance" policy for harassment "regardless of whether such conduct rises to the level of unlawful discrimination or harassment" and treats serious harassment as gross misconduct and grounds for immediate termination.
Matthews filed suit, alleging that terminating her for stating that gays will go to hell-a belief that she maintains is an aspect of her Apostolic Christian faith-constitutes unlawful discrimination under Title VII. Is she correct? [Matthews v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 417 F. App'x 552 (7th Cir. 2011).]