SAN FRANCISCO - A Muslim American woman sued her former employer, the Contra Costa County Transit Authority (CCCTA), for discriminating against her religion and wrongfully terminating her for her faith, according to documents filed on Feb. 24 in the Northern California District Court.
Plaintiff Shannon Cross was an employee of the CCCTA from July 2018 to June 2019. Cross says that the policies regarding religious headwear, including the hijab custom to her faith, were conflicting from the start of her hire. Cross alleges that some supervisors said that headwear was not permitted, while HR cleared Cross' hijab. She allegedly endured conflicting chastisement about her headwear.
The plaintiff also says she was teased and bullied by coworkers about her religious clothing, including one who said he wished he could wear his cap as part of his religion. CCCTA HR allegedly failed to act on Cross' complaints of bullying.
In May 2019, a CCCTA bus operated by Cross was in a minor collision that was not grounds for termination, the suit says. However, one of the supervisors accused of bullying the plaintiff terminated her employment.
Cross contested her termination and a union pursued a grievance, but the termination was upheld. She is suing CCCTA for discriminatory termination based on race and religion, retaliation in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and harassment due to race and religion.
Cross is requesting court-ordered training for CCCTA in how to accommodate Muslim religious practice, back pay damages, compensatory damages and litigation fees. She is represented by the Law Office of Jeremy L. Friedman.