Posted: 10/17/03
EEOC files against Missouri convention
By Vicki Brown
Missouri Word & Way
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)–Officials of the Missouri Baptist Convention have received a formal complaint from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former employee.
Former controller Carol Kaylor notified the EEOC of her intent to file a complaint after the convention's executive director, David Clippard, fired her in April. An EEOC representative conducted a telephone interview with Kaylor June 10.
Michael Berry, Kaylor's attorney, said in June the complaint likely would charge the convention with demeaning Kaylor on the job. “Our basic contention is that she was forced out of her position because she opposed practices that were demeaning to her and to other employees of the Missouri Baptist Convention,” he explained at that time.
Clippard claims Kaylor was terminated with just cause.
Neither Kaylor nor her attorney will reveal the specific charges outlined in the formal complaint, which is directed against the convention as Kaylor's employer rather than against an individual. The EEOC handles a wide range of employment issues.
Clippard said the complaint has been turned over to the convention's attorneys. According to Kaylor, the EEOC's next step will be to seek information from the convention.
In June, Berry explained that the federal commission usually tries to mediate disagreements and proceeds with a limited investigation while trying to get the parties to negotiate a settlement. Kaylor said the EEOC has not yet contacted her about that possibility.
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