Reason of the Witch.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Wiccan professor could sue under Title VII of Civil Rights Act - Brief Article

Can witchcraft triumph over a politically connected teachers union? Robert L. Hurt, an accounting professor at California State Polytechnic University, is pitting his Wiccan faith against the California Faculty Association. Hurt doesn't actually belong to the union, but because he is a state employee, money is withdrawn from his paycheck and given to the CFA. (Under California's Higher Education Employment Relations Act, all state university employees must pay dues to the union even if they aren't members.) Hurt asked the union if he could instead pay the money to a charity of his choice, but it denied his request. The professor then wrote to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which advised him he had a potential legal action under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits religious discrimination on the job.

The central tenet of Wicca, known as the "Rede," commands that believers "do no harm." Hurt thinks union activities cause economic harm to...