Discrimination Against Muslims In US: Human Rights Violation Charged Against Pax Assist Inc At JFK Airport

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has charged a contractor working at JFK Airport with discrimination against Muslim employees after the company allegedly denied workers time to pray and break fast during Ramadan. The commission filed the charges on behalf of the city instead of requiring individual victims to come forward, it said in a press release Wednesday.

The commission said that Pax Assist, Inc. violated the city’s human rights law by denying time for religious observance and alleged that supervisors also harassed Muslim employees who requested the break time. The company provides wheelchair assistance at Terminal 4 in the airport and employs more than 250 workers.

“I requested to push back my break time to 8 p.m. so I could eat after a full day of fasting but was refused,” said an unidentified Muslim employee, according to the press release. “I was trembling and felt sick the rest of my shift. I was also emotionally upset.”

According to NYC Human Rights Law, employers “must make reasonable accommodations for the religious needs of employees and job applicants.”

“We will not tolerate religious discrimination of any kind in New York City,” said Hollis V. Pfitsch, Deputy Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Bureau at the NYC Commission on Human Rights. “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.”

The commission announced that it had increased efforts to address discrimination recently. The charges against Pax Assist come the day President Donald Trump was expected to announce a ban on refugees and visitors from predominantly Muslim countries.

“Now more than ever, it is important for everyone to stand up against discrimination and hate, and to protect the rights of Muslim Americans,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “As New Yorkers, we all must be vigilant and stand up for what is right.”