Loading ...DOJ sues on behalf of Muslim teacher
flockwoodA first-year suburban Chicago school teacher asked for a three-week unpaid leave-of-absence to travel to Mecca for Hajj. The district said “no.” So the teacher quit her job, went to Saudi Arabia, and then lawyered up.
Now, the Department of Justice has gotten involved, alleging that the district failed to make a “reasonable accommodation” for the teacher’s religious beliefs.
Question: Was it unreasonable for the school district to deny the teacher the leave-of-absence?
A DOJ press release, laying out the facts of the case, is below.
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 13, 2010
Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Berkeley School District in Illinois
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced it has filed a lawsuit against Berkeley School District, Berkeley, Ill., alleging that the school district violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of Safoorah Khan, a Muslim teacher at McArthur Middle School.
The government’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, alleges that Ms. Khan requested an unpaid leave of absence in December 2008 to perform Hajj, a pilgrimage required by her religion. According to the complaint, Berkeley School District denied Ms. Khan’s request because the purpose of her leave was not related to her professional duties nor was it leave for any of the specific purposes set forth in the Professional Negotiations Agreement between the district and the teachers’ union. The United States further alleges that, because Berkeley School District denied her a religious accommodation, the district compelled Ms. Khan to choose between her job and her religious beliefs, and thus forced her discharge.
The lawsuit is based on a charge of discrimination filed by Ms. Khan with the Chicago District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After investigating Ms. Khan’s charge, finding reasonable cause to believe that Berkeley School District had discriminated against Ms. Khan, and unsuccessfully attempting to conciliate the matter, the EEOC referred the charge to the Department of Justice. More information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.
In the lawsuit, the United States seeks an order requiring Berkeley School District to adopt a policy designed to reasonably accommodate the religious observances, practices and beliefs of employees and prospective employees. In addition, the United States seeks back pay, compensatory damages and reinstatement for Ms. Khan.
“Employees should not have to choose between their religious practice and their livelihood,” said Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Federal law prohibits employers from treating employees and applicants less favorably because of their religion, and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of their employees.”
“The EEOC is committed to ensuring that individuals are protected from religious discrimination at work,” said Jacqueline A. Berrien, Chair of the EEOC. “We are pleased to foster this important collaboration with the Department of Justice to enforce the laws that ensure our workplaces are free of bias.”
This is the first lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice as a result of a pilot project designed to ensure vigorous enforcement of Title VII against state and local governmental employers by enhancing cooperation between the EEOC and the Civil Rights Division.
The filing of the lawsuit reflects the Civil Right’s Divisions ongoing commitment to actively enforce federal employment discrimination laws. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is available on its website at www.usdoj.gov/crt.
March 24th, 2011 at 2:09 am
Unpaid leave? Why didn’t the district agree to this? It would have saved them money, since substitute teachers come cheaper than salaried ones. Now the school system faces the cost of litigation.
March 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Seriously, I agree. Unpaid? Why the heck not let her. Plus it’s the Hajj, it’s only the FIFTH PILLAR OF ISLAM. This isn’t some obscure religious holiday that a person uses to get out of work. Anyone who has even a surface level knowledge of the religion knows that.
Every Muslim who can afford to is required to attend at least once in their life.
March 29th, 2011 at 11:52 am
There are two big questions that must be answered. Did the school district fail to make a reasonable accomodation for religious practice? And did the school district show any favorism or prejudice (i.e. would they have treated a Christian differently?) It’s not clear to me that school district did anything wrong in this case.
This was a first year teacher asking for a three week leave in December. If we infer the timetable then this request came during the first few months of employment. The leave was voluntary, forseeable, and if absolutely necessary it could have been scheduled for another year. The absence would disrupt the continuity of the teacher-student relationship and require the school’s administrators to find an interim teacher. Yes, the school could make do somehow but then again so could the teacher.
As for the question of favoritism, I can’t think of any comparable request that one might expect from a Christian or member of another major religion. The closest thing might be with our Mormon friends and their missionary work but that is much longer than the Hajj. Still, I can’t imagine any of them starting a new job and immediately saying that they need to take off a couple of years.
March 29th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
You raise a good point about the nature of her job, and her being a first year teacher. I missed the latter point. Someone else (a teacher) pointed that out to me when I was talking to them about this story.
There isn’t a required time to take the Hajj. While I wouldn’t give a school the power over a teacher’s religious practices, it is curious timing under the circumstances.
April 2nd, 2011 at 5:42 pm
There is a window of time to do the High Hajj.
April 4th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Poorly phrased on my part. What I found curious was that she would choose to do this in her first year teaching at the school.
April 21st, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Good points, José. I was about to make them, but then thought I should read all the comments first, just in case. Great minds think alike. : )
It’s the first year thing that clinches it for the School District in my opinion. I think if she were a 20-year veteran and the staff all knew her well, and knew her character and work ethic, etc., they would have had no problem. If she were a good and respected teacher they might have even given her PAID leave. As it is, they got suspicious and I don’t blame them. As a supervisor, I’ve hired several people who, right from the get-go, tried to see how much they could get away with. Many people don’t understand the costs (money and emotional) to employers and managers and the risks they are taking with new employees. Makes managers a little antsy and any little indicator that a new recruit is going to cause trouble may get blown out of proportion.
I’m not sure if that’s the case here, but I tend to favor the School District on this one. I don’t think they overreacted.
Being Mormon, on my mission I had a companion who was able to take a two-year deferment during the middle of his training at West Point. But he did began his release at the end of the school year. It would have been perfectly understandable if they chose not to let him go. He was very grateful that they did (despite the fact that he got stuck being my companion for a month of it). Each must try to accommodate the other.
These kinds of laws are always going to be touchy and vague. It would be much better if we didn’t have a need for them. (But then, I guess it would be better if we didn’t need ANY laws. Imagine: A world without lawyers! Oh, the bliss…)