The Justice Department has filed suit against the city of Lansing, Michigan, claiming it discriminated against a Seventh-day Adventist when it fired her for refusing to work on her Sabbath.
According to the complaint, when the city hired Sylvia Coleman as a detention officer, she disclosed that because of her religious beliefs, she was unavailable to work from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Rather than explore alternate ways to accommodate her, including shifting her schedule so she could work at other times, the city fired her after she failed to work her first scheduled Saturday shift.
The Justice Department says in a July 18, 2022, press release, “Through this lawsuit, the United States seeks to have the City of Lansing develop and implement policies that would prevent religious discrimination, seeks monetary damages for Coleman, and seeks other appropriate belief.”
The case states that the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the matter is being handled through the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section.