Last month, Pines Federal Attorneys Justin Schnitzer and Amanda Moreno won a precedent-setting EEO case allowing a FAA employee who attempted to display Chanukah decorations in the office and was asked to take them down by a union representative. The Administrative Judge found that the employee should have been allowed at the very least to decorate the FAA office with non-religious related symbols that commemorate Chanukah, like dreidel wrapping paper, just as this same employee was allowed to decorate the office with a string of lights to commemorate Christmas. The Judge relied on the employee’s right to Religious Accommodation under Title VII.
In the case, our client chose to decorate the FAA office with symbols from Christianity and Judaism. Some of the items she hung were overtly religious and some referred to the season and touched on the religion. A union representative was delegated responsibility to determine the nature of holiday decorations that would be hung at the FAA facility. The official expressed that he had received complaints by another employee about the Chanukah decorations and forced our client to remove them while allowing the Christmas-related decorations to remain. Our client filed an EEO case, and we were ultimately successful on her behalf in showing that the Agency had violated Title VII by failing to accommodate her. In addition to this case setting legal precedent on religious rights, our client was awarded damages and attorneys’ fees. If you are a federal employee who feels they have been discriminated against based on your religion or disability, reach out to us at Pines Federal and we will be happy to assist you with your accommodation request or legal action if necessary.
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