Douglasville Church Pays to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

By Doug Gross
Patch
September 1, 2016

http://patch.com/georgia/douglasville/douglasville-church-pays-settle-federal-lawsuit

The King's Way Baptist Church in Douglasville will pay $25,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a kindergarten teacher who complained the church's pastor sexually harassed her.

The independent Baptist church, which operates King's Way Christian School, also will furnish other relief, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a news release.

The EEOC filed suit in 2015 on behalf of Marsha Pearson, a kindergarten teacher at the school, who said she was fired after complaining that the pastor, who was also school superintendent, had harassed her.

Former King's Way pastor The Rev. Bill Wininger was arrested in 2014 on four misdemeanor charges of simple battery against a female employee.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Pearson complained in 2013 that the pastor had been sexually harassing her. Upon reporting the abuse, King's Way officials "told her that she allowed the harassment to happen to her" and that she was being fired, according to the suit.

The EEOC contended that Pearson's firing was a direct result of her complaining about the harassment.

In addition to providing monetary relief for Pearson, the consent decree settling EEOC's lawsuit requires King's Way to update its discrimination policies, provide annual equal employment opportunity training, make regular reports to EEOC, and post a notice to employees regarding King's Way's obligation to comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws.

"This case is a good reminder to employers that complaints of discrimination must be treated seriously," said Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, district director in the EEOC's Atlanta district office. "Blaming the victim when she reports harassment is never the right response and can create liability for the company."