PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia firefighter claims his wearing cuffed pants above the ankle and facial hair, in observance of his religion of Islam, led to religious discrimination from his superiors and his unjust firing two years ago.
Malcolm Lindsay of Philadelphia filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 27 versus The City of Philadelphia.
“Plaintiff Lindsay, a Muslim male, was employed by the defendant from on or about Feb. 19, 2019 until on or about April 3, 2019, the date of his unlawful termination. During the course of his employment with the defendant, plaintiff Lindsay held the position of Firefighter Cadet and at all times maintained a satisfactory job performance rating in said capacity,” the suit states.
“On or about Feb. 19, 2019, plaintiff Lindsay reported to the defendant’s workplace for his first day of work wearing cuffed pants above the ankle and had facial hair, in observance of his religion (Islam). On the same day, Hector Sierra, Fire Captain, informed plaintiff Lindsay that his pants and facial hair were in violation of the defendant’s dress code and grooming policy. Plaintiff Lindsay informed Sierra that he required a religious accommodation and was told to speak with Michael Roelinghoff, Fire Lieutenant and Robert Jeter, Fire Captain.”
Despite informing Jeter and Roelinghoff of his religious observances and that wearing pants below the ankle and shaving his face would be in direct conflict with his religious beliefs, Lindsay says that Jeter denied his request for a religious accommodation and demanded he remove his facial hair and comply with the fire academy’s dress code, or face the termination of his employment.
Despite Lindsay passing the OSHA Fit Test, which certified that his face mask was able to create an appropriate seal even with his facial hair, Lindsay says he was subjected to several instances of superiors questioning the legitimacy of his need to maintain his facial hair for religious reasons.
“On the same date, in retaliation for plaintiff Lindsay’s numerous requests for a religious accommodation, the defendant terminated plaintiff Lindsay’s employment, falsely claiming that compliance with the grooming policy was necessary to ‘maintain compliance with OSHA safety standards regarding the seal of the self-contained breathing apparatus.’ Telling of the defendant’s discriminatory intent, it completely disregarded the fact that plaintiff Lindsay had passed the OSHA Fit Test,” per the suit.
“On or about April 3, 2019, plaintiff Lindsay received a termination letter that included additional alleged compliance issues. Interestingly, these ‘issues’ were never addressed to plaintiff Lindsay while employed with the defendant and he had never received a write-up or any disciplinary warnings for same. Upon information and belief, other similarly situated non-Muslim Firefighter Cadets such as Alonzo Thompson were not reprimanded for participating in the same activity as alleged in the termination letter.”
For counts of religious discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, the plaintiff is seeking a rate of pay and other benefits and emoluments of employment to which he would have been entitled had he not been subjected to unlawful discrimination; front pay, if appropriate; punitive damages, compensatory damages for future pecuniary losses, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other non-pecuniary losses as allowable; pre- and post-judgment interest, costs of suit and attorney and expert witness fees as allowed by law; such other relief as is deemed just and proper, plus a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Sidney L. Gold of Sidney L. Gold & Associates, in Philadelphia.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:21-cv-00361
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com