IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

FORT WORTH DIVISION
JAMES ROBINSON, III and CHRIS
SCRUGGS, individually and on behalf of
those similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY
and GENERAL MOTORS, LLC,
Defendant.

Civil Action No. 4:15-cv-158

ECF

PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT CLASS ACTION

TO THE HONORABLE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE:
Plaintiffs James Robinson, III and Chris Scruggs sue General Motors Company and
General Motors, LLC, individually and on behalf of similarly situated individuals, because
General Motors will not accommodate their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Like many

employees of faith, Robinson and Scruggs seek to take time off without pay for religious
observances. However, since 2013 General Motors has changed its practice and begun denying
such leave requests. This denial occurs despite the availability of volunteer replacements and
less than de minimus cost to General Motors. The actions of General Motors violate Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Robinson and Scruggs notified General Motors of its violation, filed charges of
discrimination with the EEOC, and availed themselves and General Motors of the EEOCs
administrative process. General Motors failed to resolve the matter, necessitating this action.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 1

I.
PARTIES
1.

Plaintiff, James Robinson, III, is an individual who resides in Van Zandt County,

2.

Plaintiff, Chris Scruggs, in an individual who resides in Tarrant County, Texas.

3.

Defendant, General Motors Company, is a corporation doing business in the State

Texas.

of Texas. On information and belief, General Motors Company is one of the largest corporations
in the world and employs over 212,000 individuals.
4.

Defendant, General Motors, LLC, is a limited liability corporation doing business

in the State of Texas.

5.

Collectively General Motors Company and General Motors, LLC are referred to

as General Motors throughout this complaint.

II.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
6.

Personal jurisdiction is proper because General Motors does business in

Tarrant County, Texas, at its Arlington Assembly Plant. An exercise of jurisdiction will not

offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

7.

Subject matter jurisdiction is proper because this case asserts claims for violations

of 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2, also known as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law
that provides for federal jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(f)(3) and 28 U.S.C. 1331.
8.

Venue is appropriate in the Northern District of Texas because the acts giving rise

to this suit occurred in Tarrant County, Texas.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 2

III.
FACTS
A.

MR. ROBINSON
9.

Mr. Robinson began working for General Motors on or about January 10, 2000.

10.

Currently, Mr. Robinson works as an Electrician at the Arlington Assembly Plant.

11.

Mr. Robinson has always given his best efforts to the position.

12.

In fact, Mr. Robinson has always received high praises and performance-based

raises for his job performance.

13.

Mr. Robinson is an active member of the Tyler Sabbath Fellowship (Tyler

Sabbath or the Fellowship).

14.

Tyler Sabbath is a Seventh-Day Sabbatarian congregation located in Whitehouse,

15.

Mr. Robinson and Tyler Sabbath obverse Sabbath worship services on Saturdays

Texas.

as well as additional holy days through the year.

16.

As a part of Mr. Robinsons sincerely held religious beliefs, Mr. Robinson cannot

work on these holy days.

17.

Importantly, as part of Mr. Robinsons religious beliefs, Mr. Robinson is unable

to accept pay, including vacation pay, on these holy days.

18.

Mr. Robinson began requesting accommodation for his religious beliefs in 2008.

19.

Up until recently, Mr. Robinsons requests were granted without issue or concern.

20.

Specifically, Mr. Robinson was permitted to take off from work on holy days

without pay and without having to utilize his vacation leave.

21.

On or about February 20, 2013, Mr. Robinson submitted his request for

accommodation for the holy days in 2013, as he had done in past years.
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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 3

22.

Previously, Mr. Robinsons requests had been granted within a month.

23.

However, Mr. Robinson never heard anything regarding his February 20, 2013,

request.
24.

Mr. Robinson called Stacy Atkins, Labor Relations Representative, on or about

April 5, 2013, to follow up on his accommodation request.

25.

Mr. Atkins instructed Mr. Robinson to contact Brian Kole, Labor Relations

Manager.
26.

On or about April 8, 2013, Mr. Robinson met with Mr. Kole and asked him about

the status of his religious accommodation request.

27.

Mr. Kole stated the answer to Mr. Robinsons request was no.

28.

Mr. Kole did not provide any reason for the sudden change in policy and General

Motors denial of Mr. Robinsons request.

29.

That same day, Mr. Kole sent a confirmation email denying Mr. Robinsons

accommodation request to Sergio Benedetti, Technical Supervisor, Brad Smith, Technical

Superintendent, and Gerald Conoway, Labor Relations Representative.
30.

Mr. Robinson received a copy of the email from Mr. Benedetti.

31.

On April 16, 2013, Mr. Robinson met with Bill Crone, Personnel Director,

regarding his concerns about the denial of his religious accommodation request.
32.

Mr. Robinson complained that his accommodation requests were suddenly being

denied after they had been granted for the previous five (5) years.
33.

Mr. Crone stated he would look into the matter and get back to Mr. Robinson.

34.

On Friday, April 19, 2013, Mr. Crone told Mr. Robinson he had reviewed the

matter and Mr. Robinsons request would still be denied.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 4

35.

Mr. Crone stated he believed allowing Mr. Robinson to take off Saturdays was a

sufficient enough religious accommodation, and that General Motors was not required to provide
any further accommodation for holy days.
36.

Although volunteers were readily available to cover Mr. Robinsons shifts,

General Motors took no effort to inquire about volunteers or solicit volunteers.

37.

Further, the cost of allowing Mr. Robinson to take unpaid leave is less than de

minimus.
B.

MR. SCRUGGS

38.

Mr. Scruggs has been employed by General Motors since 2000 as an Electrician

in Skill Trade at Defendants Arlington Assembly Plant.

39.

Mr. Scruggs identifies as a Messianic Jew and is a member of the Beth Yeshua

Congregation (Beth Yeshua or the Congregation).

40.

Beth Yeshua recognizes certain holy days designated throughout the year.

41.

As part of Mr. Scruggss sincerely held religious belief, he cannot work on these

holy days.
42.

Importantly, Mr. Scruggs cannot receive pay, including pay from paid time off, on

these holy days.

43.

In 2008, Mr. Scruggs began requesting a religious accommodation to take off

work on holy days.

44.

Mr. Scruggs made these requests to Stacy Atkins, Human Resources.

45.

Initially, Mr. Scruggs religious accommodation requests were denied multiple

times.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 5

46.

In April 2009, Mr. Scruggs met with Mr. Kole regarding his religious

accommodation requests.
47.

When Mr. Scruggs met with Mr. Kole and asked why he was rejecting Mr.

Scruggss religious accommodation requests, Mr. Kole responded, What are you, anyway?
referring to what religion Mr. Scruggs identifies with.
48.

Though made uncomfortable by Mr. Koles behavior, Mr. Scruggs told Mr. Kole

that he is a Christian but subscribes to many Jewish beliefs.

49.

Mr. Kole responded, Well, I am Christian, too. Im a Methodist, and we dont

observe those days.

50.

Mr. Kole disapproved of Mr. Scruggss religious beliefs because they differed

from his own.

51.

Mr. Scruggs again asked to be told exactly what he needed to provide to General

Motors in order to have the requests approved.

52.

Mr. Kole made a list of things he would need, all of which Mr. Scruggs had

already provided.
53.

However, in an effort to be reasonable, Mr. Scruggs provided to Mr. Kole all of

the required information for the religious accommodations again.

54.

Mr. Scruggss requests were finally approved beginning in approximately 2010,

and he was permitted to take off of work on holy days without pay and without using any
accrued leave.
55.

In or around Spring of 2013, Mr. Scruggs learned from Mr. Robinson that General

Motors no longer permitted Mr. Robinson to observe holy days in the manner that Mr. Scruggs
had been permitted.
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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 6

56.

Mr. Scruggs discussed the issue with Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Scruggs was named

in a letter to General Motors from Mr. Robinsons attorney in April, 2013.

57.

Immediately after receiving the letter, General Motors removed Mr. Scruggss

religious accommodations.
58.

Milton Lopez, Mr. Scruggss supervisor, instructed Mr. Scruggs to bring his

religious preferences form to Mr. Kole.

59.

Mr. Scruggs requested the presence of Essie Scruggs, Civil Rights

Committeeperson, at the meeting.

60.

Mr. Kole refused to permit Ms. Scruggs to be in the meeting.

61.

Mr. Scruggs met with Mr. Kole and Eileen Polito, Committee Person.

62.

Mr. Kole told Mr. Scruggs that taking off holy days without pay had never been

approved and that the only days that had been approved were Sabbath days.
63.

This is simply untrue, as General Motors had approved all of Mr. Scruggss

accommodation forms for the preceding several years.

64.

Mr. Kole told Mr. Scruggs he would have to use vacation time to take off holy

days from now on.

65.

Since then, Mr. Scruggs can only observe holy days if he has vacation time

available and if there are not too many other employees already taking off on that day.
66.

Furthermore, General Motors requires Mr. Scruggs to receive pay on these days

67.

These restrictions fail to properly accommodate Mr. Scruggs sincerely held

off.

religious beliefs.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 7

68.

Although volunteers were readily available to cover Mr. Scruggs shifts, General

Motors took no effort to inquire about volunteers or solicit volunteers.

69.

Further, the cost of allowing Mr. Scruggs to take unpaid leave is less than de

minimus.
IV.
CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
70.

General Motors violated and continues to violate Title VII by denying a

reasonable religious accommodation to Mr. Robinson, Mr. Scruggs, and similarly situated
employees.
71.

Specifically, on certain holy days, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Scruggs, and similarly

situated employees believe that they (1) cannot perform work, and (2) cannot receive
compensation.
72.

This belief is sincerely held by Mr. Robinson, a Seventh-Day Sabbatarian of the

Tyler Sabbath Fellowship, and Mr. Scruggs, a Messianic Jew of the Beth Yeshua Congregation.
This belief is also sincerely held by similarly situated employees in these and other religions that
profess (1) no work, and (2) no compensation on certain holy days.
73.

General Motors actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

74.

All conditions precedent to the bringing of this action have been satisfied or

fulfilled.
75.

Because of the actions of the Defendant, Plaintiffs, and those similarly situated,

have suffered damages within the jurisdictional limits of this Court and require injunctive relief.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 8

V.
INDIVIDUAL ALLEGATIONS

76.

Paragraphs 70-75 are incorporated into this paragraph.

77.

Both Scruggs and Robinson experienced stress, humiliation, frustration,

sadness, and embarrassment. General Motors made Scruggs and Robinson feel inferior and
different because of their beliefs.
78.

General Motors acted with reckless disregard to Scruggs and Robinsons

statutorily protected rights.

V.
DAMAGES
A.

CLASS RELIEF
79.

Plaintiffs seek class-wide equitable relief.

Specifically, Plaintiffs seek an

injunction ordering General Motors to allow Plaintiffs and those similarly situated to take unpaid
leave on holy days in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Further, the

injunction should require General Motors to inquire about the availability of volunteers to cover
requests for religious leave. Further, the injunction should require General Motors to seek nocost methods of allowing Plaintiffs and those similarly situated to take unpaid leave for religious
purposes.

B.

80.

Plaintiffs seek an incentive award.

81.

Plaintiffs seek their reasonable and necessary attorney fees.

INDIVIDUAL RELIEF
82.

Plaintiffs seek any lost wages and economic damages, including incidental and

consequential damages.

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 9

83.

Plaintiffs seeks punitive damages to the extent Defendant acted with malice or

reckless indifference to Plaintiffs statutorily protected rights.

84.

Plaintiffs seek compensatory damages for humiliation, emotional pain, suffering,

inconvenience, mental anguish, and other nonpecuniary loses.

85.

Plaintiffs seek pre and post judgment interest at the maximum rate allowed by

86.

Plaintiffs seek their attorneys fees and costs of court.

law.

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiffs respectfully pray that Summons

be issued, and that upon a trial on the merits Plaintiffs be awarded the relief requested in this
Complaint and such other and further relief to which they may be justly entitled.
Respectfully submitted,
ROB WILEY, P.C.
By: /s/ Robert J. Wiley
Robert J. Wiley
Texas Bar No. 24013750
Board Certified Specialist, Texas Board of Legal
Specialization, Labor and Employment Law
Eric P. Dama
Texas Bar No. 24090061
LAW OFFICE OF ROB WILEY, P.C.
1825 Market Center Blvd., Suite 385
Dallas, Texas 75207
Telephone: (214) 528-6500
Facsimile: (214) 528-6511
edama@robwiley.com
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

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PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Page 10