Opinion ID: 152022
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Marquita King

Text: Marquita King has worn a khimar during all of the years that she has been a practicing Muslim, from 1993 to 2001, and after 2004. JA 124-25. Like Sharpe-Allen, she was hired while wearing traditional Muslim garb. She interviewed for her position as an intake specialist in 2000 while wearing a long dress and overgarment that were part of her religious attire, as well as a khimar and veil over her face. JA 127. Her interviewer asked whether she would be able to remove her veil when she came to work at the prison facility so that her face could be seen. JA 127. King confirmed that she could remove the veil while at work and she was offered the job during her interview and immediately accepted. JA 127. It appears that the job interviewer believed that having a veiled face would compromise safety within the prison and be unacceptable, but wearing only a khimar would not. King worked doing paperwork in an office setting. JA 129. Unlike correctional officers, she did not have keys to the facility. JA 129. The only time that she would interact with inmates was when they would be brought from a holding area to her desk by a correctional officer so that she could input their answers to intake questions into her computer. JA 129. As a member of the administrative and clerical staff, King was not required to wear a uniform. JA 210. She therefore would not be bound to dress restrictions imposed only on uniform employees, such as wearing only headgear issued with one's uniform. Instead, the dress code applicable to her position only required her to wear professional attire at all times. JA 210. During the years that King was a practicing Muslim and working at the prison, she would wear her khimar with either a long dress that is part of Muslim religious attire or slacks with long shirts. JA 127. As agreed upon in her interview, she did not wear her veil to work. JA 127.