Court rejects Jewish postal worker's suit over work schedule

10/17/2007, 1:40 a.m. ET The Associated Press

COLUMBUS (AP) — A Jewish postal worker made to work on the Sabbath day because of staff cutbacks lost an appeal claiming his work schedule violated his civil rights.

Mail carrier Martin Tepper joined the post office in Chagrin Falls, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, in 1980 and became a Messianic Jew a few years later.

For ten years he was excused from working Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, but the letter carriers' union voted in 2002 to rescind that accommodation amid pressure from fellow postal workers upset at having to work more weekend shifts because of staff reductions.

Tepper sued the U.S. Postal Service in federal court in Cleveland in 2004. He lost and a subsequent appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was denied on Monday, with the appeals court ruling Tepper could not prove he was discriminated against or that the post office failed to accommodate his beliefs.

"The removal of the accommodation did not result in a change of title, job status, pay or job responsibilities and conditions," a three-judge panel ruled. "While Tepper now has to work on Saturdays, this is simply a requirement of the job for which he was hired; it is not an adverse change in employment."

The appeals court also rejected Tepper's claim to a civil rights violation, saying he hadn't proven he was treated differently in his workplace because of his beliefs.

Tepper could ask the appeals court to reconsider or appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com