'Take that thing off your head': Muslim firefighter told to remove his head covering, complaint alleges

A San Antonio firefighter alleged in a federal complaint that three of his supervisors discriminated against him by asking him to take off his taqiyah, a prayer cap worn by Muslim men for religious purposes. Firefighter John McNees also asserted that department officials retaliated against him for reporting the discrimination to the city’s Human Resources Department. As a result of coming forward, he said, fire department officials made him sign an order saying he would cover his tattoos. “Many other employees have tattoos and are not required to cover their tattoos,” McNees wrote in the complaint, naming the other employees.

“I believe I was discriminated because of my religion, Islam, and that I was and continue to be retaliated against pretextually for reporting this discrimination.” A city investigation into McNees’ claims found there was no evidence of retaliation, prompting him to file the complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Laura Mayes, a city spokeswoman, said the city also investigated his religious retaliation claim — though she did not specify the city’s findings. “The City granted the request for accommodation to wear a taqiyah,” Mayes said. “It would have been a violation of City policy if his request had not been accommodated.” The federal complaint, filed in April, is among a handful of grievances that employees with the fire department have recently filed with the EEOC, alleging sex discrimination, religious discrimination and retaliation.