Schor administration sued by Department of Justice for religious discrimination

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the City of Lansing accusing officials of violating Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 by firing a former detention officer in 2018.

The city fired former detention officer Sylvia Coleman after she informed officials within the police and human resources departments that she could not work from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday because of her religious observance of the Sabbath as a Seventh-day Adventist, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Rather than taking steps to accommodate her, the city fired Coleman following her first scheduled Saturday shift, according to the lawsuit, which also claims the city failed to show that accommodating Coleman would cause undue hardship on the municipality.

The DOJ is seeking backpay with interest, as well as compensatory damages for Coleman. Additionally, it seeks to have a judge issue an injunction preventing the city from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion and order the city to develop and implement policies that would prevent religious discrimination.

Lansing City Attorney Jim Smiertka confirmed that the city was aware of the lawsuit and had reviewed the complaint.

"We do not believe that what is stated about the case is consistent with the facts and the law as we know it," Smiertka said. "We were in touch with these facts before the lawsuit was filed, and what we saw is not consistent with what we know to be the facts or the law."

The Indianapolis District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and attempted to resolve Coleman’s complaint before referring it to the Department of Justice, according to a news release.

“Religious discrimination and intolerance have no place in the workplace today,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “Employees should not have to choose between their religion and their livelihood, particularly when the employer can accommodate their religious beliefs."

According to the lawsuit:

Coleman applied for the position in August 2017. As part of her application, she was required to complete a work availability section. Coleman did not check the box next to Saturday on her application, indicating she wouldn't be available to work Saturdays.

In December, Coleman was interviewed for the detention officer position by Human Resources Hiring Specialist Kesha McKitty and Lieutenant Michelle Spoelma. During her interview, Coleman informed McKitty and Spoelma that she wouldn't be able to work from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset in observance of the Sabbath as a Seventh-day Adventist, according to the complaint.

Coleman was advanced to a second interview in February 2018 with McKitty, Lansing Police Capt. Daryl Green and Lieutenant Traci Ruiz. During that interview, Coleman was again asked about scheduling and she explained that she had a flexible schedule and could work different schedules, but in stating that she was flexible, Coleman meant that she was flexible outside of her observance of the Sabbath.

Coleman was offered and accepted the position in June. After reviewing her work schedule on her first day, June 18, Coleman noticed that she had been scheduled to work on Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

She raised her concern with Detention Officer Trainer Lorrie Ridenour and explained her observance of the Sabbath. Ridenour directed her to speak with human resources.

After speaking with HR officials, Coleman was directed to speak with her supervisor, Capt. Eric Eichenberg, who told her the schedule was set and she was required to work her scheduled Saturday shift, according to the complaint. Instead of working Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Coleman offered to work on Saturday after sunset, and she offered to work overnight for up to 16 hours, but Eichenberg told her she was required to work all of her scheduled shifts.

Eichenberg scheduled a meeting with Coleman for June 20, which he said was to try to resolve her problem regarding her schedule, according to the complaint. The meeting was held with Eichenberg, Linda Sanchez-Gazella, director of Human Resources, and Elizabeth O’Leary, employee and labor relations specialist. During the meeting, according to the complaint, Sanchez-Gazella confirmed that Coleman indicated she could not work Saturdays on her application but noted that Coleman told her interview panel that her schedule was "flexible."

According to the complaint, Coleman restated that she couldn't work Saturdays, as indicated on her application, and then said that she informed McKitty that she observed the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday during her phone interview.

On June 21, 2018, Coleman received a termination letter, informing her that “[e]ffective June 20, 2018, the City of Lansing is terminating your employment due to you not being able to meet the job requirements of the Detention Officer position.”

Contact reporter Elena Durnbaugh at (517) 231-9501 or edurnbaugh@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ElenaDurnbaugh.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Department of Justice files religious discrimination lawsuit against Lansing