The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against a Bowman-based ambulance service, alleging it illegally terminated an employee based on her religion.

Community Transport Services LLC, private ambulance service that served Orangeburg, Bamberg, Calhoun, Clarendon and Dorchester counties, is the subject of the lawsuit. It reportedly merged with another company in 2007. That company is not named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims former emergency medical technician Dale Morant was fired in 2006 after she refused to participate in a Halloween carnival held at Prince of Orange Mall.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 10 in U.S. District Court and claims that as a Jehovah's Witness, Morant does not celebrate Halloween.

The lawsuit claims Community Transport Services "engaged in unlawful employment practices ... by failing to provide Ms. Morant a reasonable accommodation of her religious beliefs and practices and by discharging her because of her religious beliefs and practices."

EEOC attorney Lynette Barnes said, "A Jehovah's Witness belief is that they don't celebrate any type of celebrations, including birthdays and holidays such as Halloween. They can't even attend those kinds of events. Basically, what Community Transport was requiring was that she go to a Halloween carnival ... and be there as a representative of the company and hand out materials. But because it was a Halloween celebration, that violated her religious beliefs.

"An employer can't force anybody to do anything, but they can make (it) a requirement of their jobs that an employee participate in certain events. If she had not had religious objection, certainly during this hour of your work day there was nothing wrong with (attending the carnival). But she just could not do it because it violated her religious belief."

The service may no longer be in operation. The phone number for the person listed as the company's registered agent with the S.C. Secretary of State's Office was no longer in service.

"If they have dissolved, they did not notify the Secretary of State's Office. As to what we can see right now, I would assume that they are still in business," said Renee Daggerhart, media relations director at the state Secretary of State's Office

Charles Dixon, manager of American Heritage Ambulance, a private ambulance service in Orangeburg, said Community Transport Services merged with their Ladson-based American Heritage Ambulance in November 2007.

"They are no longer in business under that name. There was a merger with American Heritage Ambulance," he said, noting that Cindy Burbage, owner of American Heritage Ambulance, is not involved in the lawsuit.

Barnes said while Community Transport Services may no longer be in operation, its previous owner is still not exempt from the law.

"Technically, a company isn't the building, cars and the people. It's the owners. So, if any owner or owners of a company engage in something that violates the law, the fact they shut down doesn't make them any less liable. Discrimination occurred. This woman lost her job, and the fact that the company decided to close up doesn't mean she's not entitled to whatever damages she might have as a result," Barnes said.

She said a voluntary settlement could not be reached, prompting the EEOC to ultimately file the lawsuit.

"We now have to wait for the company to contact us or file an answer to the lawsuit. The company will have to respond to the lawsuit, and then we just move forward based on the rules of the court," she said.

Barnes added, "We see this type of issue come up most often when an employer has a Saturday work rule with working overtime on Saturday. Quite a few religious denominations believe that Saturday is Sabbath and can't work on Saturday. We see this kind of conflict come up quite a bit, but it's just unusual that this happens to be a Halloween carnival at a mall."

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T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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