What’s sauce for the goose? A flight attendant with ExpressJet Airlines who converted last month to Islam has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEO), claiming that she was suspended from her job for not serving alcohol — which is against her religious beliefs.
CBS Detroit reports that the flight attendant, Charee Stanley, has enlisted the support of the Michigan branch of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR). An attorney for CAIR, Lena Masri, says Stanley complied with management’s directions, arranging with coworkers to handle her drink orders. In a news conference Tuesday, Masri said:
We notified ExpressJet Airlines of its obligation under the law to reasonably accommodate Ms. Stanley’s religious beliefs. Instead, ExpressJet close to violate Ms. Stanely’s constitutional rights, placed her on administrative leave for 12 months after which her employment may be administratively terminated.
Masri added that the real flashpoint in the case was “an Islamophobic complaint” filed by a coworker that referenced Stanley’s head scarf.
The airline refused to comment on the case other than to issue a brief statement reading in part:
At ExpressJet, we embrace and respect the values of all of our team members. We are an equal opportunity employer with a long history of diversity in our workforce.
Some will find similarities between this case and that of Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Oregon bakers who were ordered to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to a gay couple whose wedding cake they refused to bake. Indeed, it could be argued that Stanley, whose conversion took place a month after she went to work for ExpressJet, understood that her job description included handling alcohol. A number of people on Twitter have made that point:
It's against her religion to serve drinks, so she…. finds a job that requires her to serve drinks? http://t.co/2yGjkx6AOo via @cbsnews
— Heather Poole (@Heather_Poole) September 4, 2015
One commenter added:
Imagine a Catholic waitress in the 1960s refusing to serve meat to anyone on Fridays !
OUTLAW ISLAM ! http://t.co/t5zoDfHdQx— Norman Linnell (@NormanLinnell) September 4, 2015
Another wrote:
https://twitter.com/USBuckeye/status/639551881623281664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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