Matter of Myers v. New York City Transit Authority, 87 N.Y.2d 83 (1995)

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An employer must make reasonable, good-faith efforts to accommodate an employee’s religiously motivated Sabbath observance, even if a collective bargaining agreement exists, but is not required to engage in adversarial proceedings against a union to override the contract’s terms.

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Summary

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Mary Myers, a Seventh Day Adventist, was hired by the New York City Transit Authority as a bus operator trainee, informing them of her Sabbath observance. Her schedule conflicted with her Sabbath, but her requests for accommodation were denied citing the collective bargaining agreement’s seniority system. After unauthorized absences due to her religious observance, she was discharged. The Human Rights Division found the Authority failed to make good-faith efforts to accommodate her. The Court of Appeals held that while the Transit Authority wasn’t obligated to initiate adversarial proceedings against the union, it did have a duty to take reasonable steps to attempt an accommodation.

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Facts

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Mary Myers, a practicing Seventh Day Adventist, was hired as a full-time bus operator trainee by the New York City Transit Authority in June 1988. Myers informed the Transit Authority that she could not work between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday due to her religious beliefs. Her assigned schedule required her to work on her Sabbath. The collective bargaining agreement allocated weekly days off based on seniority. Myers requested