A professional counselor has been fired for referring a homosexual patient to another counselor for relationship advice. The counselor who was dismissed is a Christian.

Marcia Walden is a professional counselor who worked for Computer Sciences Corporation, a government contractor that provides Employee Assistance Program counselors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But Walden was suspended and subsequently fired when she referred a homosexual CDC employee to another counselor for advice on the woman's same-sex relationship. 

Jim Campbell, litigation counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says employers are required by law to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs, when doing so would cause no hardship. "Employees should not be forced to check their religious beliefs at the door," he argues. Campbell says Walden was motivated by her religious and ethical beliefs, and she felt she was unable to offer the employee counsel. "...[S]he did what was ethically reasonable. She referred this employee to another counselor who was able to do the job," he explains.

Walden's employer did not offer to assign her to another contract or to transfer her to another position, notes Campbell. However, they did, according to Walden's lawsuit, tell her she could keep her job if she would agree to lie to homosexual clients about why she would not offer them relationship advice.
 
"In this instance the employer placed upon Ms. Walden an unconstitutional choice. It forced her to either sacrifice her religious beliefs and offer counsel despite her religiously based conflict, or it forced her to refer the potential client to another counselor and lose her job," says the ADF attorney, who states it is "egregious" for any Christian employee to face termination for abiding by their religious principles.
 
Campbell contends Walden is being punished for doing the right thing twice -- first, for remaining true to her beliefs; and second, for ensuring that the employee received the requested counseling.