State Department of Corrections Agrees to Provide Religious Accommodations to Employees in Settlement Inspired by NYCLU Lawsuit

A federal court today approved a settlement in which the New York State Department of Corrections agreed to amend its uniform policy to accommodate its employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs and practices. The change in policy settles a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the United States Department of Justice and prompted by a lawsuit filed by the NYCLU on behalf of a Muslim corrections officer who was denied his request to wear a kufi while in uniform.

On October 5, 2006, the NYCLU sued on behalf of Abdus Samad N. Haqq, a devout Muslim who works at a state work-release facility in Manhattan. State officials barred Haqq from wearing a kufi while on duty, claiming that uniform regulations forbade wearing religious items. According to the acting commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services at the time, the Department was “vehemently opposed to the granting of any accommodations to security staff employees which alter the uniform grooming regulations for reasons of religious practice.”

On March 14, 2007, the DOJ joined the NYCLU’s challenge to the state’s policy by filing a related lawsuit focusing more broadly on the effects of the policy on the rights of all state corrections officers. In May, the state settled the NYCLU’s suit and permitted Haqq to wear his kufi while on duty as a corrections officer. Today’s final policy change settles the DOJ’s lawsuit and ensures that all corrections officers will have the same protection for their religious freedom in the workplace that the NYCLU was able to achieve for Haqq.

“Today’s settlement affirms the principle that state employees don’t have to sacrifice their religious beliefs in the workplace,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. “We are proud to have worked with the Department of Justice to stand up for religious freedom in New York.”

Lead lawyers on the case were Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn and Staff Attorney Corey Stoughton.

Click here to read the settlement (PDF).