New York State Rejects NAACP Challenge to Clinic’s SabbathNov 2, 2007
SPRING
VALLEY, N.Y. October 26, 2007
The New York State Division of Human Rights dismissed
the NAACP of Spring Valley’s complaint against the Ben Gilman Medical &
Dental Clinic for closing on Saturdays to observe the Jewish Sabbath.
The president of the local chapter of the NAACP first
filed a complaint and request for investigation by the Rockland County
Commission on Human Rights in September 2006.
“In their very own charter, the
NAACP claims that their mission is to ‘promote equality of rights and to
eradicate caste or race prejudice among the citizens of the United States.’
In this instance, they are doing the opposite," said Kevin “Seamus” Hasson,
president of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which challenged the suit on
behalf of the clinic along with Storzer and Greene, P.L.L.C. "The clinic has a
constitutionally protected right to close for religious observances. The NAACP's
suit violated that right and, in effect, they are working contrary to everything
that organization has stood for over its long and admirable
history."
The NAACP’s complaint claimed that by closing on
Saturdays, the clinic violated patients’ civil rights, particularly since it
accepts government Medicaid and Medicare payments. The complaint also called on
the privately-owned facility to provide diversity training to its employees and
hire more minority staffers.
“Our civil rights laws do not prohibit private
business from regulating their own hours for religious reasons, and the First
Amendment affirmatively protects the Clinic’s right to do so. Today New York State recognized that,” said
Eric Rassbach, National Litigation
Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
The clinic has been closed on Saturdays since it opened
almost two years ago. The clinic provides 24-hour on-call coverage for its
primary care services including on the Jewish Sabbath and emergency rooms of
nearby hospitals remain open on weekends to ensure that local residents do not
go without necessary healthcare services, Hasson pointed out. “If the clinic
were forced to take the action the NAACP demands, it would be oppression in the
worst sense of the word – the state would be forcing a private institution to
give up a holiday for no reason other than that it’s religious. That’s
discrimination,” said Hasson.
The New York State Division of Human Rights’
“Determination and Order After Investigation” stated, “After investigation, and
following opportunity for review of related information and evidence by the
named parties, the Division has determined that there is NO PROBABLY CAUSE to
believe that the respondents have engaged in or are engaging int he unlawful
discriminatory practice complained of.” Relevant Cases
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