An Orthodox Jewish woman who worked for the company that runs both Reagan National and Dulles airports is fighting back after being forced out of her job – allegedly because she observed Passover.
“It takes some chutzpah for the government to punish a Jewish woman for celebrating Passover,” said Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel of Becket Law, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case now has been moved.
“It takes even more chutzpah to say that they are the only government agency in D.C. exempt from our civil rights laws.”
WND reported in June the case was brought on behalf of Susan Abeles against the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority.
When it was dismissed by a trial judge, the airport authority told WND the judge “determined that the claims of religious discrimination lacked merit.”
But the woman’s defenders question why she was disciplined after 2013, when she followed the same procedure she had used in previous years to let supervisors know of her requirement absence for Passover.
She had worked there some 26 years.
“However, when she returned to work, her superiors accused her of failing to follow proper protocol for obtaining leave,” Becket explained. “Eventually they forced her into early retirement.”
The case was dismissed at the lower court because of the airport authority’s claims of improper procedures.
But Becket’s brief notes that the agency, even though it was set up by Congress and given authority by Congress, now alleges it has nothing to do with the federal government.
“As the same time, MWAA says it is not subject to state laws either,” Becket explained. “That would lead to the absurd and frightening result that MWAA is a law unto itself. MWAA would not have to follow the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) or Virginia religious freedom laws, giving it free rein to avoid many anti-discrimination laws.”
The new friend-of-the-court brief argues the airport authority is not exempt from anti-discrimination laws.
“Can a governmental entity wielding the full force of law, armed with police and eminent domain powers and tasked with the oversight of two of the busiest airports in the country, properly declare itself exempt from the reach of both state and federal anti-discrimination law? … The law says no,” it argued.
The Becket organization said arguments were heard this month, and a decision from the 4th Circuit is expected shortly.
“My Jewish faith is an integral part of who I am, and that includes observing Passover,” said Abeles. “I worked at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for 26 years and provided to various supervisors the same advance notice of all Jewish holidays without incident. It is saddening that despite following the same protocol I had each year, I was put on AWOL and suspended for five days which drove me to retire early for simply practicing my faith.”
Passover is observed for eight days, and Jewish religious law prohibits work during the first two and the last two days.
“Millions of Orthodox Jews like Ms. Abeles have observed Passover for thousands of years, yet the MWAA’s policy is to ignore this important religious holiday. Of course, like all government agencies, MWAA treats Christmas as a holiday for all workers. In 2015, Ms. Abeles sued the MWAA, which now claims to be exempt from both federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and Virginia religious freedom laws, giving it free rein to avoid all anti-discrimination laws,” the legal team explained.
Becket and the American Jewish Committee filed the friend of the court brief. Abeles’ lawyers are with the firm Lewin & Lewin.
