Security firm to pay $65K over employee head scarf
ABM Security Services Inc., which employs security officers for the Pennsylvania Convention Center, will pay $65,000 to resolve a lawsuit over the firing of a Muslim security officer who refused to remove her head scarf, or khimar, a day after she was hired in February 2011, the Philadelphia office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced.
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ABM Security Services Inc., which employs security officers for the Pennsylvania Convention Center, will pay $65,000 to resolve a lawsuit over the firing of a Muslim security officer who refused to remove her head scarf, or khimar, a day after she was hired in February 2011, the Philadelphia office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced.
The EEOC had filed the religious discrimination suit on behalf of Tahira B. El, of Philadelphia.
The money goes to El, the EEOC said, and New York-based ABM will revise its dress code to add a religious exception for sincerely held religious beliefs, unless providing the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.
The company will also provide training for hiring managers and others at its Essington office, the EEOC said. - Reid Kanaley