October 20, 2005
Henry Asher, a Jewish bus driver, has been awarded US$ 20,000 from his employer, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA), following the company's refusal to give him time off for Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The award results from a religious discrimination suit brought by the US Justice department last year on behalf of Asher, 56, against the LA county Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In a settlement announced last week by the Justice Department, the MTA agreed that drivers who are assigned shifts that conflict with their religious observances can take up to 30 days of unpaid leave while waiting for a more suitable shift to open up.
