Philadephpia Schools Settle Religious Accommodation Suit With Justice Department

The Justice Department announced Monday that it has reached a settlement with the School District of Philadelphia in a Title VII religious accommodation lawsuit that it filed in March. (See prior posting.)  At issue is the school district's October 2010 policy change which barred a Muslim school police officer from wearing a beard longer than one-quarter inch. Under the settlement, the school district will adopt a revised appearance and attire policy for police officers that will allow them to apply for a religious accommodations. The school district will also pay damages to two employees, expunge disciplinary items from their files, and will train supervisors on religious accommodation issues.