DOJ Sues New Jersey County Over Religious Employment Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that it has filed a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit against Essex County, New Jersey. The complaint alleges that the county refused to permit corrections officer Yvette Beshier to wear a religiously mandated headscarf during work. The complaint asks a New Jersey federal district court to order the county to pay damages and to adopt a policy to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees and prospective employees subject to the Correction Department's uniform policy for officers.