Government sues school district for not letting Muslim teacher take a 3 week leave

[Jon_West]

WASHINGTON - The federal government sued a suburban Chicago school district Monday for denying a Muslim middle school teacher unpaid leave to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that is a central part of her religion.
In a civil rights case, the department said the school district in Berkeley, Illinois, denied the request of Safoorah Khan on grounds that her requested leave was unrelated to her professional duties and was not set forth in the contract between the school district and the teachers union. In doing so the school district violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to reasonably accommodate her religious practices, the government said.
Khan wanted to perform the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that every adult Muslim is supposed to make at least once in a lifetime if they are physically and financially able to. Millions go each year.
Khan started in 2007 as a middle school teacher for Berkeley School District 87, about 15 miles west of Chicago. In 2008, she asked for almost three weeks of unpaid leave to perform the Hajj. After the district twice denied her request, Khan wrote the board that "based on her religious beliefs, she could not justify delaying performing hajj," and resigned shortly thereafter, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago.
Berkeley School District compelled Khan to choose between her job and her religious beliefs, the lawsuit said.
The government asked the court to order the school district to adopt policies that reasonably accommodate its employees' religious practices and beliefs, and to reinstate Khan with back pay and also pay her compensatory damages.
In November 2008, Khan filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found reasonable cause that discrimination had occurred and forwarded the matter to the U.S. Justice Department. The case is the first brought by the department in a project to ensure vigorous enforcement of the 1964 act against state and local governments by improving co-operation between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the department's civil rights division.
A message left for the school district seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Link
______

I have my own opinion about this. Without sparking anything out of hand, what do you all think?

Should she have been given permission to take 3 weeks off from the school board?

[bassteban]

It's a once-in-a-lifetime(as I read it)thing- give her the three weeks. If nothing else, I think kindness toward the (non-violent/extremist)Muslim community might be a good thing.

[Selta]

I'm not a teacher or anything, but don't they have two (or more) months off each year just like the students? Could it not have been performed then?
Either way, I don't know what the policy is for anyone taking 3 weeks (unpaid) off is. I also don't know what the effect it would have on the school to have a teacher absent for three weeks of the school year, though I would imagine they could find a temp/sub for that amount of time pretty readily.
Interesting issue, certainly. I think I'm too ignorant on the overall topic to really hold an opinion.
*goes off to google to research*

[bassteban]

I believe the haaj(sp?)is a specific-time-of-year thing. My father flew for a charter airline many years ago, & they actually ferried groups of Muslims from somewhere to Jedda, the takeoff point for the 26-mile hike to Mecca. They flew for the month of November, were put up in Bali(the flightcrews & their families, not the Muslims )for December & during January they flew them all back. This is all as I *recall*- 30+yrs ago...

[KeithBMI]

Hey Ray,

I don't think it's one of those things where you can just show up whenever. I think there is a small window of time in which you have to be there.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by bassteban

It's a once-in-a-lifetime(as I read it)thing- give her the three weeks. If nothing else, I think kindness toward the (non-violent/extremist)Muslim community might be a good thing.

tough luck.....she signed up for the job and it's conditions,and should not be able to change the rules in the middle of the game.....i'm getting awfully tired of those that come here to seek a new life,yet insist we shape our society to fit their old one.....

[Emerald_gasH]

The Hajj is undertaken at a very specific time of the lunar year, but using the lunar calendar, this time changes every Gregorian year. This (Gregorian) year, it took place in November. Although it comes earlier every (Gregorian) year, it will take until about 2020 before it will occur before the school year begins.

Random aside, if a pilgrimage to Mecca is undertaken at any time other than the Hajj, it's called Umrah; only the Hajj fulfills a pillar of Islam.

[MakiSupaStar]

If she's a permanent employee (tenured) she gets vacation time. In my district its ten days a year. After three years she should have accrued the necessary days. So maybe not that year, but the following year would have been reasonable. Now it's pretty rare that they would let you use them all at once, but in this instance I could see the district being flexible on that account. If she's not a permanent employee (she more than likely able to take the time off without pay). If another employee of the same status would want to take time off for a personal reason it would be the same. But she can't expect to be reimbursed if she's not a permanent employee.

[Selta]

Originally Posted by bassteban

I believe the haaj(sp?)is a specific-time-of-year thing. My father flew for a charter airline many years ago, & they actually ferried groups of Muslims from somewhere to Jedda, the takeoff point for the 26-mile hike to Mecca. They flew for the month of November, were put up in Bali(the flightcrews & their families, not the Muslims )for December & during January they flew them all back. This is all as I *recall*- 30+yrs ago...

Originally Posted by KeithBMI

Hey Ray,

I don't think it's one of those things where you can just show up whenever. I think there is a small window of time in which you have to be there.

Originally Posted by Emerald_gasH

The Hajj is undertaken at a very specific time of the lunar year, but using the lunar calendar, this time changes every Gregorian year. This (Gregorian) year, it took place in November. Although it comes earlier every (Gregorian) year, it will take until about 2020 before it will occur before the school year begins.

Random aside, if a pilgrimage to Mecca is undertaken at any time other than the Hajj, it's called Umrah; only the Hajj fulfills a pillar of Islam.

Thank you for the input. I found that out while I was googling around. Did not know that before. Still far too ignorant about a lot of this to really hold a valid opinion.

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

If she's a permanent employee (tenured) she gets vacation time. In my district its ten days a year. After three years she should have accrued the necessary days. So maybe not that year, but the following year would have been reasonable. Now it's pretty rare that they would let you use them all at once, but in this instance I could see the district being flexible on that account. If she's not a permanent employee (she more than likely able to take the time off without pay). If another employee of the same status would want to take time off for a personal reason it would be the same. But she can't expect to be reimbursed if she's not a permanent employee.

It was her first year of teaching.

[DwaynieAD]

around here when signing on for a job most contracts ask if you will be able to fulfill all duties assigned to you and if you have any reasons you will need to be absent in the forseeable future.

she would have known about this trip, and being absent from three weeks of school would impact students negetively and that [imo] is not fulfilling ones duties. people wouldnt be up in arms if it wasnt about religion. if it was a 3 week vacation no one would even consider the fact that it may be wrong of the school district not to allow it. and thats [imo again] hypocritcal.

[MJ5150]

Just go another year, sheesh lady.

-Mike

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Just go another year, sheesh lady.

-Mike

+1 Looks like a money grab to me.

[Emerald_gasH]

Originally Posted by hdracer

+1 Looks like a money grab to me.

Couple things some seem to be glossing over:

-The government is suing, not her

-This is a once-in-a-lifetime (reasonably mandatory) trip

-If she were to abstain from making the trip during the school year, she would have to wait until about 2020

I'm sure a compromise could be made regarding vacation time for permanent employees that maki mentioned in his post..

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by hdracer

It was her first year of teaching.

It depends on her contract. If she has a contract, and a year assignment then she should have a set amount of sick/vacation days. Probably about 10. After that the district could have allowed her to take the remaining days without pay, but they shouldn't have to. It would be like me coming in, and saying that I have to go on a religious soul searching surf trip for 3 weeks. The district might grant me 10 consecutive days, but beyond that it's up to them if they grant me unpaid leave. Whose to say that I can't claim religious intolerance. Surfing is my religion.

If she doesn't have a contract, and say she's in a long term sub position, then she can totally take the time off, but she doesn't get paid for the days she doesn't work. More than likely she wouldn't have her assignment when she returns either. That's the nature of the job.

I suspect that she is part of a group of muslims that likes to bait certain agencies and organizations into discrimination lawsuits that sets a precedent in their favor. This is similar to the group of muslims that were flying different airlines and were trying to invoke the airline to eject them for flights so they can sue them for discrimination. Or the muslim woman who tried to sue for discrimination because they wouldn't let her take her driver's license photo with a full burka on. Or the KFC employee that berated a woman for asking for bacon on a sandwich that comes with bacon.

Maybe she's not. I would have to know more details about her status with the district. before I drew any real conclusions here. Most muslim folks I know are kind, compassionate, and humble people as a whole, but there is a fringe faction of Muslims that exhibit a spectrum of behavior that concerns me. On the extreme end of this spectrum are the terrorist organizations. On the less extreme end of this spectrum you find groups that are looking for conflict so they can file lawsuits with an overarching goal of creating changes in policies that ultimately create an environment that favors Muslims, and often this even goes as far as creating an unfair advantage in their favor. It's not just here in the states. It's a worldwide phenomenon. It's happening in England. It's happening in other parts of Europe as well.

More and more we're seeing these concerted efforts by organized religion to push the boundaries of acceptable behavior so that it infringes upon the rights of others. In my opinion, political correctness has crippled common sense in most of these cases, and IMO these groups are well-aware of what they're doing. It's not just Muslim groups either. There are Christian groups doing the same thing. The Westboro Baptist Church, for example, exhibit the same tactics. Or the missionaries that go into countries heavily populated with Muslim people to start demanding their rights as Christians. More and more, this is where I see government failing the majority of it's people, in favor of concerted efforts not to offend a small minority. It's a problem, and I only see it getting worse.

[MJ5150]

I have a problem with someone working for nine months, requesting three weeks of work off during a busy time, and then quitting when they get told no.

The woman is 29 years old. This is not the last time she will have a chance to go.

-Mike

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by Emerald_gasH

Couple things some seem to be glossing over:

-The government is suing, not her, You are right, Eric Holder

-This is a once-in-a-lifetime (reasonably mandatory) trip She knew about before starting the job

-If she were to abstain from making the trip during the school year, she would have to wait until about 2020 So? that's not that long, she has her whole life

I'm sure a compromise could be made regarding vacation time for permanent employees that maki mentioned in his post.. It is her first year on the job, she started in September

I believe the US Justice department has a lot more to worry about than this.

[Selta]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

It depends on her contract. If she has a contract, and a year assignment then she should have a set amount of sick/vacation days. Probably about 10. After that the district could have allowed her to take the remaining days without pay, but they shouldn't have to. It would be like me coming in, and saying that I have to go on a religious soul searching surf trip for 3 weeks. The district might grant me 10 consecutive days, but beyond that it's up to them if they grant me unpaid leave. Whose to say that I can't claim religious intolerance. Surfing is my religion.

If she doesn't have a contract, and say she's in a long term sub position, then she can totally take the time off, but she doesn't get paid for the days she doesn't work. More than likely she wouldn't have her assignment when she returns either. That's the nature of the job.

I suspect that she is part of a group of muslims that likes to bait certain agencies and organizations into discrimination lawsuits that sets a precedent in their favor. This is similar to the group of muslims that were flying different airlines and were trying to invoke the airline to eject them for flights so they can sue them for discrimination. Or the muslim woman who tried to sue for discrimination because they wouldn't let her take her driver's license photo with a full burka on. Or the KFC employee that berated a woman for asking for bacon on a sandwich that comes with bacon.

Maybe she's not. I would have to know more details about her status with the district. before I drew any real conclusions here. Most muslim folks I know are kind, compassionate, and humble people as a whole, but there is a fringe faction of Muslims that exhibit a spectrum of behavior that concerns me. On the extreme end of this spectrum are the terrorist organizations. On the less extreme end of this spectrum you find groups that are looking for conflict so they can file lawsuits with an overarching goal of creating changes in policies that ultimately create an environment that favors Muslims, and often this even goes as far as creating an unfair advantage in their favor. It's not just here in the states. It's a worldwide phenomenon. It's happening in England. It's happening in other parts of Europe as well.

More and more we're seeing these concerted efforts by organized religion to push the boundaries of acceptable behavior so that it infringes upon the rights of others. In my opinion, political correctness has crippled common sense in most of these cases, and IMO these groups are well-aware of what they're doing. It's not just Muslim groups either. There are Christian groups doing the same thing. The Westboro Baptist Church, for example, exhibit the same tactics. Or the missionaries that go into countries heavily populated with Muslim people to start demanding their rights as Christians. More and more, this is where I see government failing the majority of it's people, in favor of concerted efforts not to offend a small minority. It's a problem, and I only see it getting worse.

Very well put, and this is what's rolling around in my head after doing some reading on this.

[Emerald_gasH]

Originally Posted by hdracer

I believe the US Justus department has a lot more to worry about than this.

Gah I must be out of it because I don't know what you mean when you referred to me as "Eric Holder".

While I do admit that perhaps wanting to go on the pilgrimage the year a person starts work may seem odd, we may never know the exact reasons for this. One could be that she is finally able to pay her way for this trip. Another thing to consider is that while, yes she could go another year (which is why I mentioned Maki's post, where he mentions using up vacation days after a few years of saving them..unless I read it wrong), you still have NO idea what is going to happen to you from one day to the next; perhaps she wanted to make sure she did this one thing in her life.

[MJ5150]

Good point Emerald. I can't say I agree, but it is a valid point.

-Mike