Jehovah's Witness Cora Miller doesn't go to birthday parties. Under her religion, celebrating birthdays - even the birth of Christ - is considered a pagan ritual.
She never found the rule a problem until she was fired from Chi-Chi's restaurant for refusing to sing "Happy Birthday" to a luncheon customer.Miller said she tried to explain the rule to the manager of the Clinton eatery.
"I told him I could still serve the food. I can even work in the kitchen. I just can't sing the song," she said. "He said, `No, that's it. You have to leave.' "
Miller, 43, a mother of four who has earned her living for years by waiting tables, is fighting the national restaurant chain in U.S. District Court. The suit claims the company acted with "malice or reckless indifference" to the federal Civil Rights Act.
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit last summer after it found that there was enough evidence that Chi-Chi's had violated federal law. The government also is seeking unspecified punitive damages.
Chi-Chi's says its employees must chime in or punch out for good.
"Chi-Chi's does have a policy in its restaurants of celebrating customer birthdays, and Chi-Chi's also complies with all federal and state employment laws," the company said in a statement.
The suit seeks back pay from the day Miller was fired in July 1993, according to her lawyer, Diane Bradley.
"Even if I get nothing out of this, I want every other Witness to be respected," Miller said. "No other Witness should be turned away from a job because of their belief."