Thursday, March 27, 2014

NYC Transit Authority Must Pay $187,000+ In Plaintiffs' Attorneys Fees In Religious Discrimination Suit

In Small v. New York City Transit Authority, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39582 (ED NY, March 25, 2014), a New York federal district court ordered the New York City Transit Authority to pay $187,570 in attorneys fees and $1450 in costs to two Muslim women who has sued the Transit Authority for religious and gender discrimination.  In the lawsuit:
Plaintiffs alleged that defendant removed them from passenger service as bus operators because they wore Muslim head coverings called khimars and refused to wear a hat to cover their khimars.
The suits, after being consolidated with 3 others raising similar claims on behalf of Muslim and Sikh drivers, were settled, granting damages, a new policy on wearing khimars and return of plaintiffs to their jobs.