March 15, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.org
State Policy Barring Prison Guards from Wearing Religious Items is
Unconstitutional, NYCLU Says
NEW YORK - The United States
Department of Justice today joined the New York Civil Liberties Union in
challenging a state policy that forbids corrections officers from wearing
religious head coverings.
Prompted by a lawsuit filed by the NYCLU
in October on behalf of a corrections officer who was barred from wearing a kufi
- a rounded cap traditionally worn by Muslims - the Justice Department has filed
a related lawsuit charging the state with a pattern and practice of religious
discrimination against its corrections officers.
"We couldn't be
happier that the Department of Justice is standing up with us for freedom of
religion," said NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn. "As a public
employer and prison administrator itself, the federal government knows better
than anyone that public employees, including prison guards, should not be forced
to surrender their religious beliefs as a condition of keeping their
jobs."
On October 5, 2007, the NYCLU sued on behalf of Abdus Samad
N. Haqq, a devout Muslim who is an officer at a state work-release facility in
Manhattan. State officials barred Haqq from wearing a kufi while on duty,
claiming that religious items are not allowed under uniform regulations.
According to the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services,
"[T]he Department is vehemently opposed to the granting of any accommodations to
security staff employees which alter the uniform grooming regulations for
reasons of religious practice."
The NYCLU continues to represent
Haqq, while the Justice Department’s lawsuit focuses more broadly on the effects
of the state's policy, and seeks to vindicate the rights of all New York
corrections officers.
"The Department of Justice's involvement in
this suit should send a strong signal to the state that its policy is both
unlawful and bad judgment," said NYCLU staff attorney Corey Stoughton. "We hope
this will prompt the Department of Correctional Services to reconsider and grant
all corrections officers, including our client, the religious freedom to which
they are entitled."
The Justice Department’s complaint is available
at:
www.nyclu.org/pdfs/haqq_doj_complaint_031507.pdf
The NYCLU's complaint is available at:
www.nyclu.org/pdfs/haqq_complaint_100506.pdf
