Federal Judge Issues Ruling in Former Dave Ramsey Employee’s Lawsuit
A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought against Dave Ramsey’s company, Ramsey Solutions, by a former employee who was fired while pregnant and unmarried may proceed to trial.
Caitlin O’Connor, a former employee at the Franklin, Tennessee-based company, filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in 2020 against The Lampo Group, better known as Ramsey Solutions. She alleges she was terminated for becoming pregnant outside of marriage, in violation of the company’s “righteous living” policy. That policy, the company says, requires employees to adhere to Christian values, including abstaining from premarital sex.
Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson initially sided with the company but reversed course after O’Connor’s attorneys filed a motion to reconsider. In his June 12, decision, Richardson wrote, “Construed in favor of Defendant as required, the Amended Complaint alleges not that Plaintiff was terminated for violating a company policy against premarital sex, but rather that she was terminated for engaging in behavior that conflicted with—failed to adhere to—‘traditional Judeo-Christian values or teaching.’”
Richardson added that while companies are allowed to prohibit conduct that aligns with religious values, how those rules are applied can matter in a legal context. “To be clear, where a company policy does have religious motivations, the religious underpinning of the policy under certain circumstances will support a particular claim that the company’s application of the policy to the employee… constituted religious discrimination,” he wrote.
The lawsuit has gained national attention due to filings that describe the company’s scrutiny of employees’ personal lives. One document referenced a case in which a newly married employee was terminated after leadership concluded she had been pregnant before her wedding.
O’Connor’s attorney, Heather Collins, welcomed the ruling. “We are looking forward to getting in front of a jury with the claims and are pleased with the direction of the court’s latest ruling,” she said in an email.
The case follows a similar religious discrimination lawsuit by Brad Amos, a former video editor at Ramsey Solutions who said he was terminated for disagreeing with the company’s views on COVID-19 and religion. That case, originally dismissed, was revived by a federal appeals court and is expected to go to trial in July. Ramsey’s attorneys are currently seeking to quash a subpoena that would require him to testify.
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
In a court filing, Ramsey’s legal team said, “With all due respect, the subpoena to Mr. Ramsey appears to be one more effort to waste Mr. Ramsey’s time after four years of litigation.”
The company previously settled another discrimination case in 2022 involving a former employee who claimed she was fired after coming out as gay. A separate class action lawsuit from former listeners of The Ramsey Show is currently on hold, pending a decision on arbitration.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
