Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport contractor settles religious discrimination case

A major employer at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has settled a discrimination claim brought by a Muslim woman who was fired after requesting to wear a skirt to work in accordance with her faith.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights — which accused Unifi Aviation of breaking the state's civil rights law following an investigation — announced the settlement Wednesday between the airport services provider and the former employee.

The woman wore a skirt as part of her uniform for a year after she was hired as a security screener in May 2018, the department says. Unifi changed its policy in 2019 to require pants, and the employee asked for a religious accommodation. The request was denied.

"The company's regional operations manager told her that she would have to choose between her religion and her job," according to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. "When the employee refused to withdraw her religious accommodation request, Unifi Aviation abruptly fired her."

The woman, who was not identified, will be paid $32,000 to cover two years of part-time wages she missed and damages.

Unifi, which bills itself as the largest aviation services company in North America, denies breaking the law. The settlement requires Unifi to provide annual training for Minnesota employees on cultural competency-related topics.

The company must also submit annual reports for the next two years "describing every religious accommodation request made by Minnesota employees and summarizing the disposition of the request," the settlement stipulates.

In exchange, the former employee has agreed not to sue Unifi, and the company does not admit fault.

The company and the woman previously entered into a separate confidential agreement that is not affected by the Department of Human Rights settlement.