A public school district in the U.S. must pay a Muslim teacher tens of thousands of dollars and establish a religious accommodation training program for refusing to let the instructor take three weeks off to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The settlement marks the conclusion of the first lawsuit filed by Obamas Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a pilot program designed to ensure vigorous enforcement of civil rights in the workplace. Employees should not have to choose between practicing their religion and their jobs, said Thomas Perez, the open borders advocate Obama appointed as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJs Civil Rights Division.
The math teacher (Safoorah Khan) sued the Berkeley Illinois district when her middle school denied the leave request because she was the only math lab instructor and her absence would come at a crucial time right before exams. To further back its case, the district pointed out that the union contract did not allow that sort of leave for any teacher.
Feeling the wrath of the powerful and much wealthier federal government, the district agreed this month to pay Khan $75,000 for lost back pay, compensatory damages and attorneys fees. It also caved into the DOJs demand of creating a new religious accommodation policy to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs, practices and/or observances of all employees and prospective employees.