Pittsburgh, PA – Ex-Employee of Bank Loses Religious Bias Suit

Pittsburgh, PA – Mellon Bank disciplined an employee because his actions were offensive, not because of his religion, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Terry McVerry said the bank's reasoning was credible when it denied Avraham Schwartzberg, 58, of Squirrel Hill, a merit raise after he wrote negative e-mails about some employees and then terminated him when he was found sleeping on the job for the fourth time.

Mr. Schwartzberg, who is an Orthodox Jew, was hired by the bank in 2002 and worked in a phone center where he provided assistance to customers who were retirees.

He's legally blind and used a large computer screen and adaptive software to help him perform his job. Additionally, the bank allowed him to leave early on Fridays to observe Sabbath and gave him first priority to schedule his vacation time to coincide with religious holidays.

The company called Mr. Schwartzberg for a meeting where he was told about an e-mail he send that was offensive and that while the company respected his opinion, he was required to treat all co-workers with respect. He replied later with a religious postcard and another offensive e-mai.

For this he was given a final written warning and told that he could be fired if there were any additional violations of company policy.

He was found sleeping on the job repeatedly and denied a merit raise because he was on "final warning status."

He sued the company claiming he was discriminated against because of his religion.

Judge McVerry said that even in the light most favorable to Mr. Schwarztberg, the facts did not fall in favor of his claim, and he dismissed the case.[post-gazette]