NY Anti-Discrimination Exemption For Religious Groups Does Not Cover Harassment

The Washington Blade yesterday reported on a case from New York City in which a Salvation Army social worker sued for discrimination, claiming his supervisor harassed him because he is gay and Jewish and then fired him when he complained. A New York state trial judge has ruled that while state and city civil rights laws allow religious groups to give employment preference based on religion and to promote their religious principles, "those limited exemptions for religious organizations are a far cry from letting them harass their employees and treat the employees in an odiously discriminatory manner during their employment, and to use derogatory expressions toward the employees."