EMERSON, OTHERS BLAST POLICY ON RELIGION

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's proposal to ban any type of religious expression in the workplace finds itself in the spotlight again, and U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson is helping lead a campaign against it.

In a two-page letter to President Bill Clinton and the EEOC Friday, Emerson expressed outrage over the commission's proposed religious harassment guidelines to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act .

"Religious discrimination is serious business," said Emerson in his letter. "Harassment is also serious business. But, the regulations proposed by the EEOC go much further than what the law or common sense requires."

The guidelines were introduced last year and met with little fanfare, said Pete Jeffries of Emerson's Washington office. "They had a public comment period in November, but there was little reaction until an evangelist addressed the issue."

The issue, said Jeffries, now faces a new comment period.

"The congressman wants the public to know that comments must be postmarked by Monday," said Jeffries.

Comment letters may be sent to Tony Gallegos, Acting Chairman, EEOC, Tenth Floor, 1801 L. St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20507.

"If this proposal goes through, it's not far-fetched to envision job termination for saying prayers over lunch or posting Bible verses above desks in the workplace," Emerson wrote to the president. "Freedom of religion, not freedom from religion is a fundamental right.

"Mr. President, you have recently traveled across the country spreading a message of values, responsibility and spiritual awakening," added Emerson. "In light of your public personal views, I urge you to take action and prevent the EEOC from desecrating the First Amendment."

Emerson also writes, "Ironically, yesterday (Thursday), a U.S. District Judge ruled that firefighters can read Playboy on the job ... but the EEOC wants to make it illegal to keep a Bible on one's desk in the work place."

A Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce official is dismayed with the EEOC proposal.

"I haven't seen Emerson's letter," said John Mehner, president of the Chamber of Commerce, "but, the EEOC proposal is ludicrous. Freedom of religion is important, and nobody should be able to tell me I can't have a Bible on my desk."

Mehner added that anyone walking into his office may see a Bible verse, or some words of wisdom taken from the bible, posted on or above his desk.

"A lot of ethics are based on religion," said a Cape Girardeau pastor, the Rev. Jimmie R. Dace, pastor of Maple Avenue United Methodist Church. "It could be hard not to have some type of religious expression in the workplace.

"I can't see where it would be offensive in any way to have a Bible or a Bible verse in the workplace," he added. "It's one thing to have religious material in your workplace, and it's another thing to force it on someone."

Emerson said, "Things like this would probably change under the EEOC guidelines. The Founding Fathers gave us very explicit constitutional guarantees regarding free exercise of religion. However, under the proposed guidelines, employers fear the only way to protect themselves against lawsuits will be by barring all religious expressions in the workplace."

In February, Emerson and 44 other members of Congress submitted a letter to the chairman of the EEOC urging the deletion of the category of religion from the proposed guidelines. That campaign now has 136 cosponsors.

"In the letter, we expressed our fear that the overly broad and vague definitions of the guidelines go far beyond existing law and may result in a workplace in which religious expression and religious freedom are suppressed. This would be in violation of both Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the U.S. Constitution," Emerson wrote.

He added in his letter to the President:

"Whether it is the EPA snooping around private property in search of endangered bugs and insects; OSHA forcing business owners to keep a record of their hot water temperatures under the auspices of `indoor air quality' or the EEOC forbidding an employee from inviting a co-worker to a prayer breakfast, actions like these only fuel the public's sense that your administration is out of touch and doesn't understand their worries and concerns."