Justice Section Secures Settlement in Religious Discrimination Go well with In opposition to Lansing, Michigan | OPA

The Justice Office declared these days that it has entered into a consent decree with the Town of Lansing, Michigan, that will resolve the department’s religious lodging and retaliation lawsuit. 

The lawsuit alleged that the metropolis violated Title VII of the Civil Legal rights Act of 1964 just after discriminating and retaliating towards Sylvia Coleman, a Seventh-day Adventist and former detention officer with the city’s law enforcement department. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination dependent on race, colour, countrywide origin, sex and faith. Title VII also prohibits retaliation from workers who have made a charge, assisted or participated in an investigation, continuing or listening to under Title VII.

“This lawsuit and consent decree show the department’s dedication to making sure that all staff members are secured from religious discrimination in the office,” claimed Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Legal rights Division. “With this consent decree, the city of Lansing will undertake actions needed to secure the spiritual rights of workers in the place of work.”

The department’s amended criticism alleges that, on her initial day of do the job, Coleman informed the city that she could not perform a change from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday because she observed the Sabbath as a Seventh-day Adventist. The amended complaint alleges that Coleman also knowledgeable the metropolis of her spiritual observance in the course of the software system. The department’s criticism asserted that as an alternative of adequately trying to moderately accommodate Coleman’s spiritual observance, which Title VII demands, the city terminated her work. The amended complaint further alleges the city retaliated against Coleman by filing a counterclaim in opposition to her due to the fact she intervened in the United States’ lawsuit.  

Underneath the consent decree’s terms, the city will submit to the section for approval spiritual accommodation and retaliation insurance policies as nicely as proposed trainings on these insurance policies. In addition, the city will shell out Coleman $50,000 in backpay and compensatory damages. The consent decree is topic to acceptance by the U.S. District Court docket for the Western District of Michigan.

Demo Attorneys Sara Safriet, Robert Galbreath, Christopher Woolley and Dena Robinson of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Segment introduced this circumstance.

The enforcement of Title VII and other federal employment discrimination regulations is a top rated precedence of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division and its perform is available on its internet sites at www.justice.gov/crt and www.justice.gov/crt/work-litigation-portion.