12-22-2021
Dave Ramsey is a radio broadcaster and owner of Ramsey Solutions, a personal finance advisory business. A former employee, Brad Amos, has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Ramsey Solutions. Amos claimed the work environment was “cult-like,” and employees with concerns about the pandemic were dismissed. Amos alleged such employees were accused of having a “weakness of spirit” and told to pray to ward off the virus. As a radio broadcaster, Ramsey has told people to quit their jobs if they do not want to get vaccinated. Ramsey has publicly criticized shutdowns due to the pandemic, saying that “lives were being harmed more” by such restrictions “than by the actual virus.” In December 2020, the company allegedly threw a large, indoor Christmas party where employees did not have to wear masks.
Amos said he began working for Ramsey’s company as a senior video editor in August 2019. The company allegedly fired Amos after learning that he wanted to work from home to protect his wife’s and his son’s health, in accordance with his Christian beliefs. Amos also claimed management criticized him for standing apart from other employees in the office. The company purportedly told him he was not a “good fit” and appeared to lack humility. Amos alleged the company fired him for “taking scientifically prescribed precautions, as required by his sincerely held religious beliefs, in the Covid pandemic rather than relying on prayer alone to protect himself.” The lawsuit contains details claiming the company required employees to express praise for Ramsey constantly, encouraged spouses to join a Facebook group monitored for “dissent,” and expected employees to fill out weekly reports asking about work-related and personal issues.
Ramsey’s company has denied Amos’s allegations. It stated, “The company has never looked down upon individuals who chose to either wear masks or become vaccinated.” The company asserted it fired Amos after he insulted a supervisor during a meeting to discuss Amos’s work, calling the supervisor “arrogant and not humble.”