Pinsker v. Joint District Number 28J of Adams and Arapahoe Counties

Gerald Pinsker (plaintiff) was a Jewish teacher for the Joint School District of Adams and Arapahoe Counties (school district) (defendant). The school district’s school schedule was arranged so that Christmas was not a school day and so that in most years, no school occurred on the day or afternoon of Good Friday. With those major religious events no longer interfering with school, Christian teachers did not have to use personal-leave time or take unpaid leave to observe the holidays. Pinsker did not work on three Jewish holidays: one day for Yom Kippur and two days for Rosh Hashanah. In many of the previous school years, all three religious days had been school days, and Pinsker had to take combinations of paid and unpaid leave to accommodate his observance of the holidays. The school district’s leave policy was created by collective bargaining and provided a maximum of two days for special leave. Teachers could use special leave to observe Jewish holidays. However, only 20 teachers in the school district could take special leave on the same day. Pinsker filed suit against the school district in federal district court for religious discrimination and constitutional violations. Pinsker alleged that the school district discriminated against his religious practices under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that the leave policy infringed on his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. The district court ruled in favor of the school district and dismissed Pinsker’s claims. Pinsker appealed to the Tenth Circuit court.