ACLJ Gets PA Teacher's Aide - Suspended for Wearing Cross Pendant - Back to School.Business Editors PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2003 ACLJ ACLJ American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Washington, DC) Gets Permanent Injunction permanent injunction n. a final order of a court that a person or entity refrain from certain activities permanently or take certain actions (usually to correct a nuisance) until completed. and Settlement Protecting Aide from Discriminatory Treatment The American Center The American Center is a high-rise tower in Southfield, Michigan. It was built in 1975 and stands at 26 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 27. The building's main use is that of a typical office tower. It also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with an educational agency in Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area of about 2.4 million people, and is the cultural center for Western Pennsylvania. that suspended a teacher's aide for wearing a cross pendant to school. The settlement agreement makes permanent a preliminary injunction A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits. A preliminary injunction is regarded as extraordinary relief. issued against the agency in June that re-instated the teacher's aide to her former position with back pay. "This is a very important victory upholding the constitutional rights of our client who merely wanted express her faith outwardly by wearing a small cross pendant on her necklace," said Vincent McCarthy, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which represents the teacher's aide in the case. "Our client is back to work and we are working now to ensure that she will never again face this type of religious discrimination in the school system. We were convinced from the beginning that the suspension was not only wrong, but unconstitutional and we're pleased that the initial ruling of the court which supported our position is now permanently in place. This is a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. victory for our client and for the First Amendment as well." The ACLJ filed a federal lawsuit in May on behalf of Brenda Nichol, who works as an Instructional Assistant in the Penns Manor Area Elementary School in Clymer, PA. She was suspended for one year without pay after refusing to remove a one-and-a-quarter inch cross pendant that she had been wearing on her necklace. The suit contended that the actions of the agency, ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers, Chantilly, VA, www.arin.net) An organization founded in 1997 to dispense IP addresses in North and South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. This was previous handled by Network Solutions, Inc., (InterNIC), which manages domain names. Intermediate Unit 28, were unconstitutional. The agency said its policy was based on a state religious garb prohibition dating back to 1895. In June, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab granted the ACLJ motion for preliminary injunction saying the state garb statute did not apply, but if it did it would be unconstitutional. The court concluded that ARIN's policy displays "hostility toward religion" and violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights (part of the Constitution). As it states in full: . The court ordered Nichol to be re-instated to her former position with back pay and benefits pending final disposition of the case at a hearing for a permanent injunction. The ACLJ and ARIN have reached a settlement in the case and have agreed to make the preliminary injunction permanent. A joint stipulation to that affect was filed with the federal court today. McCarthy says details of the settlement include: the removal of any reference to this incident from Nichol's employment record, that she remains at Penns Manor, and that ARIN remove from its policy any reference to rules prohibiting dress or jewelry that has religious significance. All of the terms of the agreement are subject to ratification by ARIN at its September 16th meeting. The ACLJ was assisted in this case by attorney Joseph L. Luciana, III of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol in Pittsburgh. The American Center for Law and Justice is a public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. The ACLJ is based in Washington, D.C. and its web site address is www.aclj.org. |
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