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October 1, 2004/Tishri 6 5765, Vol. 57, No. 5
Suit against Blockbuster alleges discrimination
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
A lawsuit filed Sept. 24 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges Blockbuster Video failed to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs.
According to the complaint, Leonard Teplitsky was told that he could not wear a yarmulke to work, as it violated the company's dress code. His options, as outlined by his supervisors, were "to either remove the yarmulke or leave." Such a statement, according to the EEOC complaint, is in direct incompliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Teplitsky, then 17 and a student at Chaparral High School, was hired by Blockbuster in November 2002 at a Scottsdale location. The complaint alleges that early in his employment as a courtesy service representative, store supervisors instructed Teplitsky he could not wear a yarmulke. Later, a supervisor told him it was allowable, as long as an officially approved Blockbuster hat was worn over it.
But a month later, the company's district leader told Teplitsky he was violating the company's official dress code. He was told there would be disciplinary action, possibly discharge from his position, if he did not remove it.
"My manager took me outside and told me I had to remove it because all of our jobs were in danger," Teplitsky said.
The complaint states that Teplitsky, under duress, did not wear the yarmulke for two months.
Teplitsky said he asked his supervisors for clarification in the matter. "I didn't really understand why this was happening," he said. "It was very vague. I had an inclination that this was kind of against the law, but I didn't really know what was going on."
Through a friend, he con-tacted Amy Gittler, a local employment lawyer. In February 2003, Teplitsky filed a formal charge with the EEOC.
After the formal charge was filed, Teplitsky spoke to Blockbuster's regional human resources director, who told him the matter would be looked into and that it would be possible for him to wear his yarmulke. A few days later, Teplitsky was told it was allowable. But he decided to go forward with his case.
"I felt it was wrong and I wanted to make sure that this didn't happen again," he said.
Gittler said the company's policy has been inconsistent. Some say he should have asked permission to wear the yarmulke, and still others say it was fine from the beginning.
"This kind of thing should never happen (today)," Gittler said.
"It's very impressive that Leonard, at the age of 17, was so taken aback by this that he would personally seek out a lawyer," she said. "That says a lot about his convictions."
The complaint asks that Teplitsky be granted com-pensation for past and future losses that were a result of the "unlawful employment practices." These amounts would be determined at trial. The EEOC attempted to settle the case before a complaint was formally filed. However, according to the EEOC, no pre-judgement settlement was reached.
"The law does not permit an employer to discriminate against employees because their religious beliefs require them to dress in a certain manner," said Mary Jo O'Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC Phoenix office, in the EEOC press release. "We will continue to enforce the law on this issue and we encourage employers to voluntarily work with employees to accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs."
According to Randy Har-grove, spokesman for Block-buster, the company had not received a copy of the complaint and felt it would not be appropriate to comment on the case. He did say that the company had a strict dress code, but that exceptions could be made based on religious or medical circumstances.
"As a matter of company policy, we are an equal opportunity employer and it's our intention to treat all employees with respect and dignity," Hargrove said.
Contact the writer here
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