NYC alleges religious discrimination by JFK airport contractor

By Bart Jansen

January 25, 2017

The New York City Human Rights Commission announced Wednesday allegations of religious discrimination against Pax Assist, a contractor that provides wheelchair assistance to passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The company, which serves 32 airlines and employs more than 250 workers at JFK’s Terminal 4, allegedly denied breaks to Muslims for daily prayers or for eating after fasting for Ramadan, according to the commission.

Supervisors at Pax Assist also allegedly harassed Muslim workers over a radio system when they requested break time with messages such as “we’ll give you a break on our time, not your time” and “we don’t care about Ramadan,” according to the commission.

If confirmed, the allegations carry a maximum $250,000 civil penalty, with potential compensatory damages such as when workers are fired unfairly.

“We will not tolerate religious discrimination of any kind in New York City,” said Hollis Pfitsch, deputy commissioner of the law enforcement bureau. “Employees of every faith have a legal right to request religious accommodations and should not be harassed or discriminated against by their employer for requesting break time to observe their faith.”

After receiving the complaint last week, Pax Assist has 30 days to respond. The company didn’t reply to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

The commission and Pax Assist could negotiate a resolution to the charges. If not, the case will be heard by an administrative judge, who could issue a recommendation for a fine or other resolution. The commission would then consider the recommendation, and could raise or lower a proposed fine.

The commission is a city agency that enforces the human-rights law against discrimination in 22 categories. About 900 complaints were filed last year, which represented a 30% rise in reporting of discrimination about race, religion, national origin and immigration status, according to spokesman Seth Hoy. About 400 cases remain open.

 “Discrimination does not just happen on the street, it can touch every part of our daily lives, including in the workplace,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “Now more than ever, it is important for everyone to stand up against discrimination and hate, and to protect the rights of Muslim Americans."

While most cases are filed by individuals, the commission itself filed charges against Pax Assist for an alleged “pattern or practice” of violations. Three workers have alleged discrimination so far, but the investigation will continue with interviews of supervisors named in the complaint, Hoy said.

Isha Jahan, 24, of New York, worked for Pax Assist taking passengers to gates for four months in 2016. She told USA TODAY that supervisors sometimes refused to let her take a break for prayers, unless she threatened to tell the union.

 “It’s important – very important – in the Muslim religion to pray,” she said.

Jahan faced a tougher challenge with her observance of Ramadan, a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. She asked to push her break back to 8 p.m. so that she could eat after breaking her fast, but was refused.

Jahan said she trembled and felt sick when she wasn’t able to eat after the fast, and it would make her “very emotionally upset.” She has since found another job.

The union organizing with Muslim workers, 32BJ Service Employees International Union, brought the allegations to the commission’s attention. Muslims pray five times per day, but Pax workers were repeatedly denied requests for 10- to 15-minute breaks during the last year, according to the commission.

 “Airline subcontractors like Pax should respect their employees, not only for the hard work they do and important services they provide to passengers every day, but also as human beings and people with families, convictions and human dignity,” said Hector Figueroa, the union’s local president.