Religious Accommodation Claim Against New York Transit Authority Rejected

In Bowles v. New York City Transit Authority, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32914 (SDNY, May 23, 2006), a New York federal district court rejected Title VII, state law, and First Amendment claims by an ordained minister in Fellowship Tabernacle of Christ who was employed as a subway cleaner by the New York Transit system. The court found that plaintiff Warren Bowles had failed to prove the required elements of his claim that NYCTA had failed to accommodate his religious need to abstain from Sunday work. In fact, NYCTA did grant an accommodation after some delay. The court also rejected Bowles' claim that NYCTA had retaliated against him for filing suit to obtain religious accommodation.