Essex County, Religious Discrimination, New Jersey 2024

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Essex County, New Jersey, is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that it discriminated against a Muslim corrections officer on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yvette Beshier, a corrections officer, was allegedly denied a religious accommodation to wear a khimar, a headscarf, as part of her uniform policy.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, claims that the Essex County Department of Corrections (DOC) first suspended Beshier and then terminated her due to her refusal to remove the headscarf. According to the complaint, Beshier had requested a religious accommodation, but the DOC denied her request.

The suit alleges that Essex County’s actions were in direct violation of Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. The law requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation of employees’ religious observances and practices.

‘Employees should not have to choose between their religious beliefs and their economic livelihood,’ said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. ‘Federal law requires all employers, even those having policies regarding the wearing of uniforms, to reasonably accommodate the religious observances and practices of their employees.’

The filing of this lawsuit reflects the Civil Rights Division’s ongoing commitment to actively enforce Title VII’s prohibitions against religious discrimination. In February, the Division obtained court approval of a settlement agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority requiring the authority to adopt a religious accommodation policy to its uniform requirements for bus drivers.

The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring Essex County to adopt a policy that reasonably accommodates the religious observances and practices of employees and prospective employees subject to the Essex County DOC’s uniform policy for corrections officers. The suit also seeks monetary damages and other relief for Beshier.

For more information about the Civil Rights Division and its law enforcement activities, please visit www.usdoj.gov/crt.

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