Complaint Filed Against NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab

A trial is set to begin this week in a lawsuit over whether NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) unlawfully discriminated against an employee for discussing the scientific theory of intelligent design (ID) at work, according to the Discovery Institute. The jury trial is set to begin Wednesday, March 7.

David Coppedge, a 14-year JPL veteran and team lead computer administrator on the Cassini Mission to Saturn, was reprimanded and demoted after lending ID-related DVDs to coworkers, By contrast, anti-ID workers at JPL faced no similar restrictions on expressing their views. After Coppedge filed suit to protect his free expression rights, JPL terminated him.

"Evidence shows that taxpayer-funded JPL harassed, demoted and terminated Coppedge after he expressed a pro-ID scientific viewpoint disliked at JPL and wrongly labeled as 'religion' by JPL decision-makers," said Dr. John West, Associate Director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture. "Whatever your views on intelligent design, you should be concerned about the pervasive culture of discrimination that appears to exist at this NASA facility," added West.

Last November, a California Superior Court judge ruled there "are triable issues of fact as to whether Plaintiff's demotion, written warning, negative performance evaluations, and ultimate termination were adverse employment actions" which involved discrimination. That ruling allowed the case to proceed to trial.

FMI: www.discovery.org, www.nasa.gov