A former Generac Power Systems employee who says he refused to use the preferred pronouns of a transgender coworker for religious reasons alleges the company denied his request for a religious accommodation and fired him after he submitted a two-week notice of resignation.
The former Generac employee, Spencer Wimmer, alleges that the company discriminated against him because of his religious beliefs. He is being represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which filed a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Wimmer last week. That complaint argues Generac is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“We strongly disagree with the claims by this former employee, and we will defend against this frivolous claim,” said Generac, a Town of Genesee-based generator manufacturer, in a submitted statement Tuesday. “The company complies with all federal and state employment laws.”
Title VII requires employers with 15 or more employees to protect individuals from employment discrimination based on religion, among other things. Employers are required to reasonably accommodate “sincerely held” religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would impose “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”
Wimmer, a “devout Christian Baptist,” had been an employee at Generac’s Jefferson facility for nearly five years. During this time, WILL states Wimmer received “glowing performance reviews” and was promoted to a leadership role.
“Everything changed when (Wimmer) disclosed his Christian beliefs to his manager and was forced to meet with Generac’s human resources department,” according to WILL’s complaint.
WILL claims Wimmer told human resources and his supervisor that his Christian faith prevented him from using the preferred names and pronouns of transgender employees. He allegedly sought a religious accommodation to avoid using certain pronouns in the workplace, which was says was denied.
Over the course of several weeks in March, Wimmer claims he had several discussions with Generac’s human resources department, during which he attempted to explain how his religious beliefs conflicted with the use of an unnamed employee’s preferred pronouns.
Growing increasingly “distressed” over the situation, Wimmer alleges he submitted his two-week notice of resignation on March 31. However, the company allegedly declined to accept his resignation and instead “terminated” him immediately.
“Generac made no attempt whatsoever to accommodate Mr. Wimmer’s request,” said WILL in its complaint. “Instead, Generac discriminated against Mr. Wimmer at every step of the way.”
Legal argument
WILL argues that Generac never produced a policy that would have required Wimmer to use “any particular reference when addressing other employees.” However, Generac was required by law to consider Wimmer’s request for religious accommodation.
WILL also notes in its complaint that no Generac employee ever made a formal complaint to the company regarding Wimmer’s personal beliefs on pronoun usage.
“We strongly disagree with the claims by this former employee, and we will defend against this frivolous claim,” said Generac in a submitted statement Tuesday. “The company complies with all federal and state employment laws. Additionally, we’ve never had a policy on gender pronoun usage. We have voluntarily and proactively complied with the administration’s executive order that the company not have DEI related requirements. We are unable to comment further given the ongoing nature of this pending litigation.”
During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors.
Generac previously made several commitments to advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), according to the company’s 2023 environmental, social, and governance report.
Those efforts included establishing DEI reporting practices and providing educational content to employees and leaders aimed at expanding their “mutual understanding and appreciation for each other.”
“We will revise and recalibrate our DEI commitments annually as we continue our DEI journey,” reads the 2023 ESG report.
After a formal complaint is received, the EEOC investigates to determine whether any allegations being made are valid. If a complaint is determined to be valid, both parties involved will receive a letter of determination. The letter invites both parties to resolve the complaint through an informal process called conciliation, according to the EEOC website.
WILL, a nonprofit conservative law firm based in Milwaukee, focuses specifically on legal matters related to individual liberties, free speech and workers’ freedom.
