Religiously observant Muslim women often face discrimination because their modest dress sets them apart. When religious discrimination against Muslim women hit an airline support company, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stepped in and filed a lawsuit to protect their right to religious accommodations.

In this blog post, I will review the complaint in EEOC v. Aviation Port Services, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-10909, which involves religious discrimination against Muslim women. I will discuss how Title VII applies to religion and requests for religious accommodations, and what employees can do if they face wrongful termination for their faith.

Airline Support Company Denies Muslim Women Religious Accommodations

Airline personnel have a very specific dress code. Aviation Port Services provides stewards, stewardesses and other staff to airlines from its location in Boston, Massachusetts. The company dress code required women who worked as passenger service agents to wear company-provided pants or knee-length skirts. However, the company employed six Muslim women whose religious practices included wearing modest dress. These women had previously been allowed a religious accommodation to wear long skirts while working, instead of the knee-length skirts or form-fitting pants.

But in late 2016, Aviation Port Services told these women that they would no longer be allowed to wear their religiously observant clothing. They again requested religious accommodation and objected to the change in policy. Then in January 2017, all six women were fired for not complying with the company’s uniform policy.

Title VII Prevents Religious Discrimination and Protects Religious Accommodations

Religious discrimination is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When a person’s sincerely held religious belief conflicts with company policy, that person is entitled to request religious accommodations. If the employer can make a reasonable accommodation without creating an undue hardship on the company’s business, Title VII requires it to do so. The law, like every state and federal anti-discrimination law, prevents employers from firing an employee in retaliation for filing a request for religious accommodation or complaining about religious discrimination at work.

When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reviewed the Muslim women’s religious discrimination complaints, it found reasonable cause to believe that Aviation Port Services had violated Title VII by removing their employees’ religious accommodations and then terminating their employment when they complained about the change in policy. On May 7, 2018, it filed a complaint on behalf of the six Muslim employees in federal court in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. EEOC New York Regional Attorney Jeffrey Burstein said in a statement:

“Employers have an affirmative obligation under federal law to make reasonable modifications to company policies, such as dress codes, to accommodate their employees’ religious practices. . . . Despite this obligation, Aviation Port Services simply refused to allow these women to continue working in attire consistent with their religious beliefs.”

Fighting Back Against Religious Discrimination Against Muslim Women at Work

When an employer insists on a discriminatory policy, it can force observant women to choose between their religion and their employment. But as EEOC New York District Director Kevin Berry said:

“Federal law is clear: employers cannot refuse to provide a religious accommodation barring an undue hardship, and employees have a right to oppose discriminatory practices without fear of losing their jobs.”

Fighting back against religious discrimination against Muslim women can include practical changes as well as money damages. Depending on the nature of the discrimination, and employees’ personal priorities, an employment discrimination attorney and the EEOC can help them seek:

• Changes to company policy and practices
• Religious accommodations that are not unduly burdensome on employers
• Court ordered bars on religious discrimination at work
• Anti-discrimination training for managers, supervisors, and coworkers
• Back pay for employees terminated for not complying with policies that violate their religious convictions
• Money damages for expenses related to finding replacement employment
• Punitive damages for malicious treatment of religious minority employees
• Attorney fees and costs related to litigation

Religious discrimination against Muslim women often forces them to choose between their sincerely held religious beliefs and company dress codes and other policies. When an employer refuses to provide reasonable religious accommodations, a skilled employment discrimination attorney can advocate on your behalf with the company, at the EEOC, and in state and federal court. You don’t have to tolerate religious discrimination at work. At Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, our employment discrimination attorneys know what reasonable religious accommodations look like, and what it means to our clients when those accommodations are denied. Contact us today to explore your options and find solutions that respect your religious beliefs.