Lawsuit alleges cult rebuff led to firings

Ex-worker claims `new age’ pressure

Supervisors who were members of a “new age” cult at an Exxon Mobil Corp. laboratory in Baytown harassed and fired workers who rebuffed cult recruitment efforts, according to a lawsuit filed by a former laboratory employee.

William McCracken, 63, of Houston alleges that he and at least two other employees at the Exxon Baytown Olefins Plant laboratory were fired for failing to seek counseling and undergo healing rituals administered by a cult leader.

McCracken, a lab technician employed by Kelly Services and assigned to work at the laboratory, is suing Exxon Mobil and Kelly Services for an unspecified amount in damages for religious discrimination and retaliation.

The lawsuit filed this week alleges that Exxon Mobil and Kelly Services failed to investigate McCracken’s complaints about the activities of employees who “adhered to certain spiritual, religious teachings of (the cult leader) and a `new age’ belief system, including a practice known as Reiki.”

“I think it’s inexcusable that they did not … put a stop to this intolerance and harassment that occurred at the lab,” said McCracken’s attorney, Charles Jeremiah.

ExxonMobil issued a statement saying that it conducted an investigation and found the allegations were without merit.

One of many Web sites on Reiki, pronounced Ray-Key, defines it as “a method of natural healing based on the application of Universal Life Force Energy.”

A lab supervisor, who allegedly was a member of the cult, fired one of McCracken’s co-workers after she refused to allow the alleged cult leader to treat her cervical cancer, according to the lawsuit.

Another woman was fired after she refused to attend cult meetings at the home of a supervisor, the lawsuit alleges.

“Favorable treatment for Reiki followers continued to be the norm, while others were treated unfavorably,” the suit said.

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