School Board Settles Justice Department Suit On Refusal To Accommodate Hajj Trip

The Justice Department announced on Thursday that it has entered into a consent decree with the Berkeley, Illinois Board of Education in a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of Safoorah Khan, a Muslim middle school teacher who was denied an unpaid leave that she requested so she could perform the Hajj. (See prior posting.) The suit was the first growing out of a program of enhanced cooperation between the EEOC and Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Under the consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, the school district will pay $75,000 to Khan for lost back pay, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees, will develop a religious accommodation policy and will provide mandatory training on religious accommodation various personnel.