Yeshiva World News is reporting that a federal court ruled against a Messianic Jew in Cleveland who filed a civil rights suit against the U.S. Postal Service.

A Jewish postal worker made to work on Sabbath because of staff cutbacks lost an appeal claiming his work schedule violated his civil rights.

Mail carrier Martin Tepper joined the post office in Chagrin Falls, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, in 1980 and became a Messianic Jew a few years later.

For ten years he was excused from working Saturdays, but the letter carriers’ union voted to rescind that accommodation amid pressure from fellow postal workers upset at having to work more weekend shifts because of staff reductions.

Tepper sued the U.S. Postal Service in federal court in Cleveland. He lost and a subsequent appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was denied, with the appeals court ruling Tepper could not prove he was discriminated against or that the post office failed to accommodate his beliefs.

“The removal of the accommodation did not result in a change of title, job status, pay or job responsibilities and conditions,” a three-judge panel ruled. “While Tepper now has to work on Saturdays, this is simply a requirement of the job for which he was hired; it is not an adverse change in employment.”

The appeals court also rejected Tepper’s claim to a civil rights violation, saying he hadn’t proven he was treated differently in his workplace because of his beliefs.

Tepper could ask the appeals court to reconsider or appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

More info at Cleveland.com.

This case has serious implications for all of us who observe Shabbat. The definition of "reasonable accommodation" seems to be less narrow than I thought. A "reasonable accommodation," according to this suit, now includes the option of taking unpaid days off.

If I were Tepper, I would sue the labor union for not allowing him to defend his civil rights in their forum. That is probably not possible, though. At the very least, I hope he takes the case to the Supreme Court and wins it there. The possible effects of this are pretty broad.

On another note, the comments on the article on Yeshiva World News are very interesting. It is frustrating that people still associate real Messianic Judaism with J4J. The level of misinformation about us in the rest of the Jewish community is pretty big. For instance, the idea that Messianic Judaism is an offshoot of Mormonism... The answer? Keep following Torah as active and sincere members of the community, and work hard to show that we are not just a bunch of missionaries in sheep’s clothing.

Labels: Judaism, Messianic Judaism, Shabbat