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8th Circuit Holds Temp Agency Could Enforce No-Headwear Rule of Employer

By Howard M. Friedman

In EEOC v. Kelly Services, Inc., (8th Cir., March 25, 2010), the 8th Circuit rejected charges that Kelly, a temp agency, discriminated against Asthma Suliman, a Muslim woman, when it refused to refer her to a job at a printing plant because she insisted on wearing a khimar. The employer, Nathan Printing, prohibited wearing of loose clothing or headwear because of the danger that it could become tangled in printing machinery. According to the court, the EEOC failed to prove that there was an available position at the printing plant to which Kelly could have referred Suliman. Even if there was, Kelly showed a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for failing to refer Suliman. Title VII does not require that an employment agency being sued for religious discrimination also prove that the employer to which it would be referring a worker would suffer an undue hardship if it were to accommodate the worker's religious needs. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on April 02, 2010 (boomark / email).