TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former state employee claims in a federal lawsuit that she was fired from her job at the Kansas secretary of state's office after she declined to attend prayer services in the office. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Courtney Canfield says in her lawsuit filed in federal court in Topeka that before Assistant Secretary of State Eric Rucker ousted her in November 2013, he "repeatedly and emphatically indicated a basis for her termination as the fact that, 'She just doesn't go to church.'" The lawsuit names Rucker and the office of the secretary of state as defendants. Canfield's lawsuit says she declined to attend religious services in the office despite "repeated invitations" to the services. The secretary of state's office didn't return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
