Howard Rhine, president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA), announced today that a major New York City brokerage firm has agreed to reemploy and pay back salary to a Sabbath observer who claimed she was dismissed because of her need to leave early on Fridays during the winter months. The back pay will amount to $2,240.
The Sabbath observer filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights charging that she was fired because of her religion in violation of the State Human Rights Law. New York law requires employers to make reasonable accommodation to the religious needs of Sabbath observers when such accommodation would not cause undue economic hardship on the employer’s business.
A COLPA representative accompanied the complainant to a hearing based on the complaint at which a finding of probable cause was made. A finding of probable cause is analogous to an indictment in a court of law. A public hearing of the charges, which ordinarily would be held following such a finding will now not be held as a consequence of the firm’s offer of reinstatement and compensation.
In a statement, Rhine observed that brokerage firms have been “a particular problem for Sabbath observers seeking employment. We trust that the substantial amount of money involved in this matter will go a long way towards opening the doors of economic opportunity in this and other sectors of the economy to Orthodox Jews.” He indicated that COLPA will continue to seek high monetary awards in matters of this kind to drive home to employers “the seriousness of their responsibilities under the law.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
