Comair Illegally Refused to Hire Rastafarian, U.S. Lawsuit Says
Bloomberg
September 13, 2005
Comair Inc., a regional commuter unit of Delta Air Lines Inc., refused to hire a man as a flight attendant because of his Rastafarian religion, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 2 in a Michigan federal court, alleges that Cincinnati-based Comair declined to hire Christopher Peart after he told a company recruiter his religious beliefs prohibit him from cutting his hair, EEOC attorney Trina Mengesha said. The
refusal violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act, she said.
`Peart applied for a job at a job fair and made the first cut,'' Mengesha said in an interview. ``He was then brought in for an interview and shown a slide show on the company's grooming policy. After he told the recruiter about his religious beliefs,
he received a rejection letter.''
The EEOC is seeking punitive and compensatory damages and wants the company to institute hiring policies that accommodate religious beliefs.
Chris Kelly, a spokeswoman for Comair, could not be reached for comment.
Mengesha said the company requires its male flight attendants to keep their hair trimmed above the collar line. US Airways Inc. agreed to change its policy on men's hair length to settle a similar EEOC suit in 2002.
Rastafarianism is a religion that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s. Members associate the process of growing their hair into a style known as dreadlocks with a spiritual journey.
Shares of Delta, the third-largest U.S. airline, fell 3 cents to 82 cents at 11:45 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
The case is EEOC v. Comair, 05-cv-601, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan.
I know I used to be a Rastafarian. I used to have a voodoo doll I carried in my flight case, Jaboo. However after the Christmas fiasco last year and now furloughs, I no like Jaboo. I say:
"I'm pissed now, Joboo. Look, I go to you. I stick up for you. You no help me now, I say, fu** you, Joboo. I do it myself!"
Seriously, I don't think this will get far...there's plenty of precident in the law for companies to enforce hairstyle and hygiene standards. I wonder if they ever gave this guy a drug test. Rasta!!
Bloomberg
September 13, 2005
Comair Inc., a regional commuter unit of Delta Air Lines Inc., refused to hire a man as a flight attendant because of his Rastafarian religion, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 2 in a Michigan federal court, alleges that Cincinnati-based Comair declined to hire Christopher Peart after he told a company recruiter his religious beliefs prohibit him from cutting his hair, EEOC attorney Trina Mengesha said. The
refusal violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act, she said.
`Peart applied for a job at a job fair and made the first cut,'' Mengesha said in an interview. ``He was then brought in for an interview and shown a slide show on the company's grooming policy. After he told the recruiter about his religious beliefs,
he received a rejection letter.''
The EEOC is seeking punitive and compensatory damages and wants the company to institute hiring policies that accommodate religious beliefs.
Chris Kelly, a spokeswoman for Comair, could not be reached for comment.
Mengesha said the company requires its male flight attendants to keep their hair trimmed above the collar line. US Airways Inc. agreed to change its policy on men's hair length to settle a similar EEOC suit in 2002.
Rastafarianism is a religion that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s. Members associate the process of growing their hair into a style known as dreadlocks with a spiritual journey.
Shares of Delta, the third-largest U.S. airline, fell 3 cents to 82 cents at 11:45 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
The case is EEOC v. Comair, 05-cv-601, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan.
I know I used to be a Rastafarian. I used to have a voodoo doll I carried in my flight case, Jaboo. However after the Christmas fiasco last year and now furloughs, I no like Jaboo. I say:
"I'm pissed now, Joboo. Look, I go to you. I stick up for you. You no help me now, I say, fu** you, Joboo. I do it myself!"
Seriously, I don't think this will get far...there's plenty of precident in the law for companies to enforce hairstyle and hygiene standards. I wonder if they ever gave this guy a drug test. Rasta!!
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