Court Rejects Religious Accommodation Complaint By Orthodox Jewish Federal Employee

In Marmulszteyn v, Napolitano, (ED NY, Aug. 22, 2912), a New York federal district court dismissed a Title VII religious accommodation lawsuit brought by an Jewish man who claimed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection failed to reasonably accommodate his need not to work on Saturdays while he was employed as a Customs and BorderProtection Officer.  The court found that no adverse employment action had been taken because of plaintiff's refusal to work a Saturday shift.  Instead it allowed him to swap shifts with others.  Further, he was offered a reasonable accommodation-- a weekend overnight shift in place of his Saturday morning assignment. His claim that he was the victim of religious discrimination because he did not receive a permanent religious exemption of the sort some other employees enjoyed was rejected. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]