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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEEKS TO INTERVENE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today filed papers seeking to intervene in an employment discrimination case against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed to respond to complaints by a teacher who was harassed on the basis of his religion and national origin.

The proposed complaint, which must be approved for filing by the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alleges that the L'Anse Area Schools subjected a Jewish teacher to religious and national origin harassment while he was employed by the school district, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The teacher's complaint, which was originally lodged with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 1999, alleges that Louis Owen has been the target of several incidents of anti-semitic harassment, including his classroom being vandalized with swastikas and anti-semitic messages. Some messages included threats of death. Owen alleged that although he informed the school principal and the school system's superintendent of the ongoing harassment, the district did not institute effective measures to remedy the harassment and keep it from recurring.

"Harassment and discrimination on the basis of religion or national origin is against the law and will not be tolerated," said Bill Lann Lee, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "The Department of Justice will act swiftly to hold employers responsible for permitting an atmosphere where this harassment is tolerated."

In its proposed complaint, called a complaint in intervention, the government alleges that the school district subjected Owen to a hostile work environment and did not act reasonably or appropriately in responding to the harassment. The government is seeking damages for the victim of the hostile work environment and relief to ensure that the school district implements effective anti-harassment policies in the future.

The teacher, a veteran of more than 30 years in the L'Anse Area Schools, later took an extended medical leave to deal with the effects of the harassment and has since left teaching in L'Anse. The teacher filed a private lawsuit in federal district court on March 27, 2000.

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