With Adverse Employment Action Absent, Court Denies EEOC's Motion For Reconsideration In Religious Accommodation Case

In an important EEOC case involving the intersection of company dress code policies and the rights of employees seeking religious accommodations, following a grant of both parties' summary judgment motions in part, which we previously blogged about here, the EEOC moved for reconsideration of the dismissal of one individual's claims against the defendant, JetStream Ground Services, Inc. ("JetStream"). Relevant to the EEOC's motion for reconsideration, the Court previously held that the EEOC failed to accurately establish the employee's actual start date at JetStream, limiting the provable loss to a "de minimis" amount of eight hours of pay. In an order recently issued in EEOC v Jetstream Ground Services, Inc., Case No. 13-CV-02340 (D. Colo. Mar. 8, 2015), Judge Christine M. Arguello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied the EEOC's motion for reconsideration, holding that a worker must be subjected to an adverse action to assert a religious bias claim under Title VII, and that the arguments advocated by the EEOC in its motion did not satisfy the requisite standard of proving clear error or manifest injustice warranting relief.

This case should be on the radar of employers who intend to utilize strict uniform or dress code policies, especially given the backdrop of a diverse workforce that often seeks religious accommodations and the increasingly aggressive stance of the EEOC in religious discrimination litigation.

Case Background

In October 2008, Florida-based JetStream was awarded a cabin cleaning contract with United Airlines at Denver International Airport. JetStream offered job interviews to employees of its predecessor contractor. Id. at 3-4. JetStream used several criteria in its hiring process, one of which was the applicant's willingness to wear a gender neutral uniform of pants, shirt, and hat. Id. at 8. Five Muslim women of Ethiopian or Somali nationality ("Intervenors") who had unsuccessfully applied for the position of Aircraft Cleaner filed charges of discrimination locally with the Colorado Civil Rights Division. They alleged that JetStream discriminated against them on the basis of their sex (female) and religion (Muslim), and denied them the religious accommodations of wearing a hijab to cover their hair, ears, and neck, and of wearing long skirts to cover the form of their bodies. Id. at 3. After the charges were filed, JetStream amended its uniform policy "based on legal issues regarding the burka...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT