Charee Stanley, 40, filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday against American airline, ExpressJet. Her lawyer, Lena Masri, an attorney with Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that Stanley wanted to do her job without serving alcohol in accordance with her Islamic faith just as she was doing before her suspension. According to the Ex flight attendant. she was fired for not serving alcoholic beverages on a flight.
“What this case comes down to is no one should have to choose between their career and religion and it’s incumbent upon employers to provide a safe environment where employees can feel they can practice their religion freely,” Masri added.
The lawyer further said that Stanley had started working for ExpressJet around three years ago and had converted to Islam about two years ago. After learning this year that her religion not only forbade her from consuming alcohol but it also prohibited her from serving it, she had approached her supervisor on June 1 and was allowed to work out an arrangement with another employee so that she would not have to serve alcohol to passengers.
“It was at the direction of the airlines that she began coordinating with the other flight attendant on duty so that when a passenger requested alcohol, the other flight attendant would accommodate that request. We know that this arrangement has worked beautifully and without incident and that it hasn’t caused any undue burden on the airline. After all, it was the suggestion of the airline,” Masri informed.
However, on August 2, another flight attendant complained to the airline claiming that Stanley was not performing her duties and that she had a book with ‘foreign writings’ and wore a headscarf. On August 25, Stanley received a letter from ExpressJet informing her that it was revoking its religious accommodation to exclude her from service of alcohol and placing her on administrative leave.
“They placed her on unpaid leave and they advised her that her employment may be terminated after 12 months. We are requesting that her employment be reinstated and the accommodation of her religious beliefs be reinstated as well,” Masri said.
ExpressJet spokesperson, Jarek Beem, declined to comment on Stanley’s complaint and instead said that they embraced and respected the values of all of our team members. “We are an equal opportunity employer with a long history of diversity in our workforce. As Ms Stanley is an employee, we are not able to comment on her personnel matters.”
