Muslim teacher sues over not being allowed to go on hajj pilgrimage

[bijou]

The U.S. Department of Justice Monday slapped the Berkeley School District with a lawsuit, saying it discriminated against a Muslim teacher when it denied her unpaid leave to go on a religious pilgrimage.

The feds said the district, about 15 miles west of Chicago, violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in its handling of MacArthur Middle School teacher Safoorah Khan’s December 2008 request, failing to reasonably accommodate her religious practices. ...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2831921-418/district-khan-department-lawsuit-monday.html

[Eupher]

First question I have is:

Did she want to do her hajj during the school year, when she's contracted for x number of days to teach?

Second question:

Did she qualify for vacation time?

Third question:

Does the school district take Good Friday as a holiday?

Fourth question:

Did she actually go on her hajj after she resigned her position?

Fifth question:

Does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 actually compel employers to bend over backwards to accommodate their employees when that employee wants to take a religious-oriented sabbatical, or is this more of Eric Holder's fellating of the Muslim faith?

[DumbAss Tanker]

The thing that would get the school district in trouble here is if they have allowed other non-Muslim teachers to take leaves of absence for religious purposes, such as missionary work.  Even then, it's not a automatically a lost cause, if they can explain why in legitimate nondiscriminatory terms, i.e. they let one of four social studies teachers go on unpaid leave for some religious purpose, but the Muslim was their only high school math teacher.

The BIG problem for them though is the inherently-oppressive power of the DOJ.  They have virtually limitless resources to hound anyone they pick as a target to the ends of the Earth, a local school district not so much.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I think I'm with the muzzy on this one.

It's an unpaid LOA. Berkeley should have honored it. People take unpaid LOAs for all sorts of reasons, many far flimsier than that. If you grant one you grant them all. Unless Berkley has a strict policy of no LOAs, paid or otherwise, regardless of reason it appears they have engaged in biased behavior.

If it were a private employer that would be one thing but this is a government school district and the government must obey its own rules.

[JohnnyReb]

The Muslims have sais that they'd use our laws against us....this is just one of those cases.

The Muslim must be seen as superior....as per Muhammed.(piss on him)

[Eupher]

I think I'm with the muzzy on this one.

It's an unpaid LOA. Berkeley should have honored it. People take unpaid LOAs for all sorts of reasons, many far flimsier than that. If you grant one you grant them all. Unless Berkley has a strict policy of no LOAs, paid or otherwise, regardless of reason it appears they have engaged in biased behavior.

If it were a private employer that would be one thing but this is a government school district and the government must obey its own rules.

I dunno, Snugs. My wife is a teacher (or used to be, anyway) and the issue of contract time (number of days teaching) seems to be the Main Driver Of Everything In That School District.

For example, any teacher who even THOUGHT about applying for leave during the contract school year would automatically get The Evil Eye. Yes, people get sick and yes, people get a certain number of personal days, but these are actually very few - or at least they are in the school district in which she taught.

There are FMLA-type cases that a person can fall on, including their own "emergency" (we had a woman in the plant who actually applied for FMLA to get a boob job - dunno if it was granted or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was), along with family reasons, and that's federal law.

It could be, DAT, that the muzzie applied for FMLA and it was denied - that might automatically make it a federal case when the muzzie contested it after she resigned.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Sounds like Title VII Civil Rights based on religious discrimination, from the snippet provided; I don't see a mention of any medical aspect that would raise FMLA.

[Eupher]

Sounds like Title VII Civil Rights based on religious discrimination, from the snippet provided; I don't see a mention of any medical aspect that would raise FMLA.

Yes, I read the Summary just a minute ago. Religion and sexual harassment both are covered under that title, along with allowing an employer to bypass the "unlawful employment practice" provision for those who are involved with the Communist Party of the U.S.

Thank God for small favors.

[true_blood]

This is a tough one.
Half of me says it's ok, half of me says not. Tough call.

[JohnnyReb]

I'm a bible toting, gun worshipping, right wing nut case....can I have 3 weeks off to go to the rifle range?

[Eupher]

I'm a bible toting, gun worshipping, right wing nut case....can I have 3 weeks off to go to the rifle range?

You can tote the Bible all you like - as long as you face Mecca when you pray. Five times daily. If you do that, you can go.

Oh, btw - I think there are any number of rifle ranges in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run courtesy of al Qaeda. Might wanna lose the Bible before you go, though. Wouldn't wanna piss 'em off.


[/sarc]