Written by Don Byrd
A former substitute teacher in Phillipsburg, New Jersey may have been unlawfully fired when he was dismissed for giving a student a Bible, according to a recent EEOC ruling. Phillipsburg school officials, the determination letter explains, failed to provide evidence to refute the charge that Walt Tutka’s firing was discriminatory in nature.
A report from nj.com describes the incident at issue:
In October, 2012, Walt Tutka of Belvidere was working as a substitute teacher when, according to his complaint filed with the EEOC, he said to a student who was last in line, “The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first.”
Tutka alleged in the complaint that after the student “repeatedly” asked where the line was from, he told him it came from the Bible.
Tutka asked the student if he had a Bible and, when he said no, Tutka said he could have his and he gave him his Bible, the complaint stated.
Because there is reasonable cause to believe a violation occurred, the Commission will attempt to correct the issue with the school district through the conciliation process required by law. If that process fails to achieve a “just resolution,” the EEOC could file a lawsuit to seek a judicial remedy.
For their part, the school district apparently argues the Bible incident was not the reason for Tutka’s termination. The EEOC, however, found sufficient evidence that it was the reason. Stay tuned.
