Kansas woman claims GOP secretary of state’s office fired her for not going to church

An employee of the Kansas' Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office says she was fired from her job for not belonging to or attending a church.

According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, Courtney Canfield of Topeka filed suit against the secretary of state's office naming her supervisor Eric Rucker as defendant.

Canfield claims that before she was fired in November of 2013, Rucker said "repeatedly and emphatically" that she was being terminated because "She just doesn't go to a church."

Friendly Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta wrote, "The problems began in February of 2013, when Canfield was invited to a church service by a staffer working for Rucker. That happened multiple times but she never went. Despite being a Methodist, she wasn’t particularly religious."

That November, Rucker paid a visit to Canfield's grandmother Margie Canfield, an official in the state Republican Party. Rucker informed Margie Canfield that her daughter had to be fired because of her failure to attend worship services. When Margie said she would not fire her own granddaughter -- who didn't even work for her -- Rucker said that he would.

Canfield's lawsuit states that "On November 18, 2013, Plaintiff was informed by Mr. Rucker that her employment was terminated and that she should contact Human Resources to assist her in filing for unemployment insurance benefits."

She is suing for $75,000 in damages for "lost past and future wages and benefits, cost of living increases, mental and emotional distress and anguish, embarrassment, inconvenience and humiliation."

A spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's office told the Capital-Journal that the secretary of state's office has requested legal representation in the case.