Mesaba Airlines has agreed to pay $130,000 to settle accusations that it violated the civil rights of employees by not allowing them to swap shifts with other workers to observe religious holidays.
The money will go to one former Mesaba employee and four job applicants who claimed that the Eagan-based regional airline, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, prohibited employees from making voluntary shift swaps within their first three months of employment or their probationary period. A federal judge in St. Paul approved the settlement Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed a year ago, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged that this "no shift swap" policy led to the firing of a Jewish customer service agent who refused to work past sundown in order to observe the Sabbath. The EEOC also claimed that four Christians who applied for customer service positions at Mesaba were rejected during interviews because they said weekend shifts would conflict with their Sunday worship.
"This case might have never risen if Mesaba's front-line managers had a better understanding of their obligation to make religious accommodations for employees," said John Rowe, director of the EEOC's Chicago district.
Mesaba said it amended the shift trade policy on Sept. 29, 2006, allowing employees to trade shifts after on-the-job development has been completed and within the 90-day probationary period. The company denied the allegations in a court filing.
In a statement Wednesday, a Mesaba spokeswoman said the airline has "a longstanding history of being respectful and accommodating to religious beliefs and practices." The agreement, she added, "is a demonstration of Mesaba's commitment."
As part of the settlement, Mesaba agreed to conduct diversity training for all its human resources employees and management personnel involved in hiring new employees.
The airline also agreed to keep records of all requests for religious accommodations made by any employee or job applicant, as well as publish a statement to employees affirming its commitment to "treating all employees with respect and dignity, regardless of religion," according to the settlement.
