Constitutional Torts: Mustafa v. Syracuse City School District

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U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York

Constitutional Torts

Religious Freedom

Mustafa v. Syracuse City School District
05-CV-813
Judge Scullin

Background: On June 29, 2004, plaintiff Abdul-Raoof Mustafa, f/k/a Randolph Thompson, filed an action asserting a First Amendment retaliation claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983; a Title VII claim for religious discrimination and failure to accommodate religious practices; and a state constitutional tort claim pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the New York State Constitution. The plaintiff asserted his Title VII claims against his employer, defendant Syracuse City School District, and his section 1983 and state constitutional tort claims against the defendants. On Sept. 11, 2001, the plaintiff, an African-American and practicing Muslim, interviewed for a position as a teaching assistant with defendant SCSD. Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff was hired and began work at Franklin Magnet School working one-on-one with children with special needs. While at Franklin, the plaintiff was allowed to attend Jumma prayers — the traditional Islamic Friday prayers held at a mosque and led by an imam — by using his lunch time. Eventually, the plaintiff was transferred to Delaware Elementary School, where he again was allowed to attend Jumma prayers either by coming in early or working late in order to make up the time he missed. Due to budget cuts, the plaintiff later was transferred to H.W. Smith Elementary School. Upon arrival, the plaintiff informed defendant Birnkrant that he was a practicing Muslim and that his religion required him to attend Friday prayers at noon at a mosque. Initially, the defendant informed the plaintiff that he would not be allowed to leave school for Friday prayers; however, she later relented, so long as he used his personal time. During his time at the school, the plaintiff often would greet the Muslim students with the traditional Muslim greeting, “As-Salaam-Alaikum,” which means “peace be upon you.” In March 2004, during parent-teacher conferences, the plaintiff was eating his lunch in the back of the classroom, reading a pocket-sized Quran. During the break, a young Muslim student and her mother, both part of a local refugee program, entered the classroom for a conference with the teacher and the family’s sponsor. Upon seeing the mother, the plaintiff greeted her with the traditional Muslim greeting, “As-Salaam-Alaikum,” and the mother responded likewise. The plaintiff then picked up the five-year old girl, gave her a hug, and kissed her on the forehead. The following day, the sponsor, speaking for herself and the mother, informed Birnkrant she thought that interaction was inappropriate. Birnkrant later met with the plaintiff and provided him with a counseling memorandum indicating he should not speak Arabic or any language other than English while at the school. The memorandum also indicated the plaintiff should keep his copy of the Quran out of the classroom. The school’s building committee, a group of teachers and administrators charged with answering employee concerns on an anonymous basis, later disseminated a memorandum to the faculty that stated that because the school was an English as-a-second-language facility, only English should be spoken. The plaintiff was found unsuitable for tenure. Defendant Jones stated the plaintiff demonstrated he was unreceptive to supervision by posting the counseling memorandum on the internet, rather than following defendant SCSD’s procedure for rebuttal. Defendant Jones also stated that the plaintiff demonstrated he was unreceptive to supervision by blaming others for his concerns, being defensive and failing to respect confidentiality by posting the memorandum on the Internet. This litigation followed.

Ruling: The plaintiff failed to establish that the defendants treated other employees differently in accommodating their religious practices. To prove disparate treatment, the plaintiff was required to show the defendants treated him less favorably than a similarly situated employee outside of his protected group. In his deposition, the plaintiff attempted to establish disparate impact by stating that defendant SCSD allowed Francine Berg, a Jewish music teacher, to leave for religious observances without taking personal time. Berg is a tenured teacher subject to a different union contract, however, which allows for “planning time” that can be used at her discretion, and which may be combined with other free time, such as lunch, to allow her to attend such services occasionally without using her personal time. The plaintiff has not alleged the defendants permitted any district employee of another religion to read religious materials in a classroom. The defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted and the case is dismissed.

Michael A. Schwartz of Syracuse University Law College for the plaintiff; Joseph Francis Bergh, City of Syracuse Corporation Counsel, for the defendants