Right to Day Off Disputed
UFT Halts Discipline Over Holy Thursday

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The United Federation of Teachers last week obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent discipline of school staff members who took Holy Thursday March 20 as a religious observance day.

JOEL I. KLEIN: Not automatically granted.

The TRO effectively mandated that the Department of Education grant the day - which commemorates Jesus's Last Supper - to any UFT-represented employee whose Principal denied their application last Wednesday, after receiving instructions included Tuesday night in the Principals' Weekly.

'Lost Religious Rights'

"The school system, in our judgment," UFT President Randi Weingarten stated in a letter to chapter leaders, "violated precepts of religious observance when it issued a memo the day before Holy Thursday (in the Principals' Weekly) that essentially instructed principals that they could deny members' requests to take the day off for religious observance."

The city is appealing the ruling, but DOE officials agreed with the UFT not to move forward with disciplinary action against any employee who took the day off despite being denied it, until after the case is resolved in mid-April. Possible disciplinary action includes docking pay for a day and/or a letter in the staff member's file.

Union officials were particularly upset that the clarification printed in the weekly bulletin appeared late Tuesday night, giving them and affected educators only one day to address the conflict. Principals had reportedly been requesting clarification about this year's policy after staff members began asking for the day off.

This year's calendar brought the conflict into higher relief, since usually the Christian Holy Week, which includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, coincides with the Jewish holiday Passover and city-wide school spring break. But this year the two holidays diverge (Passover begins April 19) and spring break did not cover Holy Thursday. Schools did close in observance of Good Friday on March 21.

In 2005, however, a similar conflict took place, and union officials say it was resolved through clarification by the DOE weeks in advance, giving schools enough time to deal with the situations on a case-by-case basis, to ensure that no school lost so many staff members that it would be unable to function.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Kami Barker said the city appealed the restraining order because it took away the DOE's right to be discretionary in granting religious accommodation, which she said was guaranteed by law. "If half the Teachers apply to have the day off," she said, "it essentially could cause the school to shut down and children not to be educated."

Union officials believe the conflict could have been averted and a mutually accommodating resolution could have been negotiated if the DOE had clarified the policy sooner.

In the Principals' Weekly, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein wrote, "Many of you may have been given a grievance decision suggesting that employees are "entitled" to Holy Thursday or Easter Monday as religious observance days upon request. That is inaccurate. As pursuant to Chancellor's Regulation C-606, an employee's request for time off for religious observance must be decided on a case-by-case basis." It then goes on to suggest some guidelines for making the decision, such as the impact on the school's functioning and how much time off the holiday in question requires.

UFT officials argued that the Principals' Weekly, instead of clarifying the regulation that they believe essentially says administrators should grant a religious observance appeal except in extraordinary circumstances, gave Principals the impression that they had much wider discretion in denying a request.