Onion stew

Curious news from America, where an insurance company faces a lawsuit after demanding that employees observed the practices of the ‘Onionhead’ religion, which include telling your boss that you love them.

Now, I have no doubt that most of us love to express our gratification to the big man upstairs for the mountain of work on our desks and bursting inboxes, and readily shower our management with sheer love and devotion.

But if we do, then we do so voluntarily. That the practice became a requirement for the unfortunate employees of Long Island’s Cost Containment Group makes it a very different matter indeed.

Besides the occasional exclamation of affection to their bosses, employees also had to attend group prayers, thanking God for their jobs. ‘Onionhead’ paraphernalia was widely displayed around the premises.

(If you’d like to know more about Onionhead, this Daily Mail article helps. Apparently, a relative of one of the company’s founders invented it. I like the Onionhead motto, ‘Peel it, Feel it, Heal it.’)

Call me old fashioned, but in my opinion for one to practice a belief it is useful, if not necessary, that one actually believes in it. This elementary point, however, was quite overlooked by the company, who would discipline or even dismiss any employee who objected.

Anyway, the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of dismissed employees, on the basis that employers are not permitted to dictate this area of workers’ lives.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) contends that the practice – which has been on-going for seven years – violates federal employment law.

I can’t help but wonder if Cost Containment will be praising the Lord when the damages bill comes through…

About the author

Paul Deans

Paul trained at one of Scotland’s leading law firms before going to work in the Falkland Islands. After a brief spell in South America, and some time spent with an employment law fixed-fee provider, he moved to LAW in February 2014, where he is a Legal Manager.