By Jeanette Littleton

Jo Ann Knight hadnt asked for the chance to witness while she was out and about on her job as a nurse. But sometimes you just cant ignore an open door.

Thats what happened when she was on a home visit with an AIDS patient. The patient and his partner started talking about the life and death issues they faced, as well as wondering about the afterlife. JoAnn, with their permission, began to tell them how they could know they were going to heaven.

The men thanked her and truly seemed grateful for her words.

Imagine JoAnns surprise when her boss handed her an official reprimand. She was suspended for four weeks without pay for misconduct, and her home visit duties were suddenly restricted. Soon, JoAnn also faced a lawsuit, because the men said her visit left them in emotional turmoil. So much for witnessing at workeven when the opportunity drops in your lap.

Leroy Banks and Marcus Horton weren't quite as direct as JoAnn Knight in sharing their faith. They were employees of Service America Corporation, which provided cafeteria food service at a General Motors plant. Occasionally, while talking with customers, the men would say God bless you or Praise the Lord. Service America ordered the men to stop their innocuous greetings and fired the men when they didn't comply.

In our litigation-happy society, and our world of political correctness, we have to be wise and knowledgeable when it comes to sharing our faith in our places of employment.

Fair play
Technically, we have a lot of legal freedom when it comes to sharing our faith. Federal workers are protected by the Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace released by the White House in August 1997. The rest of us are covered by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which says employers may not discriminate against us on the basis of our race, gender or religion.

What it boils down to is information much like the Equal Access Act that is continually challenged in public schools. In the Equal Access ruling, Christian kids and clubs in schools are allowed parallel rights and privileges as non-Christian kids and clubs.

In the workplace, in most situations, an employer cannot stifle an employees expression of faith, beyond the degree that they can stifle any other employers opinions and personal expressions. Lets look at some specific instances:

You want to hang a poster in your office or put wallpaper on your computer that lists a scripture verse, or a religious message. That's fine as long as other employees are allowed to put wallpaper on their computers or hang personal posters in their offices. If your co-worker can hang a surfing poster in his cubicle, you can hang a Jesus poster in yours. Your choice of wall hangings cannot be censored or banned simply because they're religious.

However, if the employer doesn't let other employees hang personal posters in their work spaces, you cannot hang a poster, religious or not.

Can you use an empty boardroom for Bible studies during your lunch time? Sure, if other employees are allowed to use empty rooms for other purposes. If no one is allowed to use empty rooms for purposes beyond work, then you cannot claim your employers are discriminating by not letting you hold a Bible study in the room.

The same is true for clothing. If anyone in your corporation is allowed to wear a t-shirt of his or her choice, you can wear a religious t-shirt. If they're allowed to wear jewelry with the company uniform, you can wear religious jewelry. If no jewelry, or certain specified pieces only are allowed (like only gold studs for earrings), you may not sue the company for not letting you wear religious jewelry.

Talking the talk
Are you allowed to verbally witness at work? This area leaves a little more room for interpretation.

In many ways, the whole thing of witnessing at work is filled with shady areas, says Thurman Gardner, a 20-year human resources veteran. As a Christian, Gardner sympathizes with those wanting to share their faith. But legally, he also feels an obligation to the rights of those who don't want to hear the gospel. Gardner points out that any time an employee complains about someone else proselytizing, he has to check out the claim.

It's the same as in any case of disruption, he explains. If someone complains that the person in the next cubicle is disrupting him by playing country music, I have to check it out. Or the case in which a woman had a scantily clad man on her computer screen. One of the male employees filed a complaint, and we had to deal with the situation.

The letter of the law seems to give us a lot of freedom. We have a right to talk about our faith and to express it. But on the other hand, we have to be considerate and should avoid questionable situations.

For instance, consider the manager who not only organized his personal Bible study notes on office time but also had his secretary type the notes. This manager was not showing consideration of the secretary's time, nor using the employers time honestly. After all, the company was paying him and his secretary to spend those hours focused on the company's good. The manager was rightly reprimanded for the act, the courts found.

The same manager also was reprimanded for sponsoring a prayer meeting in his office before the workday, allowing prayers in his office during department meetings, plus affirming his Christianity and referring to Bible passages about work ethics.

The court ruled in favor of the employer regarding the before-work prayer meetings, no employer is required to take on the burden of opening an office early so that employees can practice their religion.

An employee can't be disciplined or terminated solely on the basis of his or her religious beliefs, but an employer is not required to accommodate those beliefs if the cost to do so would be a burden.

However, the courts supported the manager on the other points. The court also ruled that this manager did not have to remove a serenity prayer on his wall, or remove his Bible because some employees found it offensive.

We are free to talk about our faith at any time on our breaks or on lunch hours or before or after work. If were allowed to talk about anything besides our job at various times during the day, were also free to talk about our faith as long as it doesn't hinder our work. If were witnessing when we should be working, employers have a right to ask us to focus on the job were being paid for.

What if someone complains about our talking about our faith? Even here were protected. If I tell a co-worker about the gospel, and he asks me not to talk to him about the subject again, I need to honor that request. The law protects my initial discussion, but if I continue to force the subject with someone who has politely asked me not to discuss this with him, then he could file a harassment complaint against me. If I want to talk to that person about my faith again, I would need to get his permission first.

The force with which we share our faith also can be considered harassment. If we move beyond polite to being demanding, insulting, hostile or threatening, harassment can be filed at the first instance of our sharing our faith. Just as we expect our feelings, beliefs and rights to be respected, we must respect others.

What happened to JoAnn Knight, the nurse who witnessed to the AIDS patient and his partner? She took the matter to court. In the end, the courts agreed that she had respectfully shared her faith after asking for permission and did not intend to harass or cause emotional anguish for the men. She was reinstated fully.

In the case for Marcus Horton and Leroy Banks, the cafeteria workers, the courts found that the men were always polite and non-confrontational and that their greetings did not cause any harm to the companys business.

So when it comes to sharing your faith at work, don't let your fears of legal limitations hinder you. The keys are to be respectful, sincere and considerate. And isn't that what Christ calls us to do anyway?

If youre facing discrimination
If you feel your employer is discriminating against you and your faith, you should contact an attorney. You can write a statement letting your employer know that you feel your Title VII rights are being violated.

If the employer takes no action, you can file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC will then investigate your claims. Be prepared, though; this is a tedious, long process. To obtain the correct forms or get more specific information, call 800-669-4000, or check out www.eeoc.gov.

For more information:
Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace text of document available at www.workinfo.com/free/downloads/74.htm

The American Center for Law and Justice website includes wonderful e-booklets and articles by Jay Alan Sekulow-- www.aclj.org.

The Rutherford Institute International legal and educational organization dedicated to preserving human rights and defending civil liberties www.rutherford.org.

Check out thoughts from the employers human resources perspective at:  http:ppspublishers.com/articles/gl/religious_accomodation.htm

The First Amendment Center offers an interesting take at: www.firstamendmentcenter.org/

Material from the Christian Law Association: www.Christianlaw.org/workplace_witnessing.html

Christian Legal Society: www.clsnet.org