In Honor of National Nurses Week May 6 - May 12 The Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah Nurses Council Recognizes and Supports Our Colleagues in Israel. Patricia Averbuch, RN Linda Belkin, RN Nancy R. Berman, RN, CS, MSN Debbie Bernstein, RN, MBA, BSN Randee Bloom, RN, MBA Suzy Darmon, RN Audrey Demak, RN, BS Fern Carnick Edelstein, RN Annette L. Frumin Elyazam, RN, BSN Marilynn Emmer, RN Deedee Fair, RN Jan Walters Faultersack, RN, BSN Laurel Felsenfeld, RN, BSN, CRRN Pamela Friedman, CRNA Susan D.G. Gibbs, RNC Susan Ginzler, RN, BA Meredith Goldberg, RN, BSN Carol Cobb, RN, BSN Barbara Horowitz, RN, MSN Elaine Horowitz, RNC, BSN Debra Isaacs, RN Libby Kaplan, RN Susan Kay, RNC, M. Ed. Shirley Kramer, RN Randee Kovacs, RN, BSN Susan Lankowsky, RN, MSN N NDASSAH ► SES couN cii NUR qm. S Susan D. Loss, RN, BSN Debra Luria, RN, MSN, CS Cindy Madgy, RNC Andrea Marcus, RN, MS Adele Mattingly, RN Phyllis Meer, RN, BSN, CPNP Joyce Meckler Miller, RN, BSN Cynthia Nagel, CRNA Barbara Nowak Elaine T. Robins Rita Rubin, RN Agnes Schare, RN, BSN Joy Schumacher Elaine Serling, RN, BSN Deborah L. Silverman, RN, BSN Lori Steinlauf, RN Barbara Stern Rhoda Tashjian, RN Map R. Gibbs-Tevlo, RN, CRNi Gail R. Victor, RN, BSN Carol Walters, RN, BSN Lois Winer, RNC, BSN Beth Zoller, RN For membership information call Hadassah 683-5030 or 357-2920 PRE-MOTHER'S DAY SALE ONE DAY ONLY! 7TH MAY 10-6 SATURDAY, 1 5% OFF ENTIRE STOCK OF SPRING AND SUMMER SHOES *prior sales, layaways and evening shoes excluded SHOE GALLERY 15 Mile and Orchard Lake Road -West Bloomfield Plaza 851.5470 Teacher Claims Bias In School District JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER A White Lake Township el- ementary-school teacher has filed suit against the Huron Valley School Dis- trict because she has not been al- lowed to take off work to observe the Jewish holidays. Edith Williams, 47, recently filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in Oakland County Cir- cuit Court against the Huron Valley School District, its super- intendent and assistant super- intendent of personnel. A few weeks ago, the district respond- ed by having the case moved to federal court. Ms: Williams, who became Jewish through a Reform con- version four years ago, wishes to undergo an Orthodox conversion but said she can not complete her conversion without being able to observe the 13 holiest days. She said the district will not let her take some of the days off that fall within the school year, even though she is willing to take them without pay. Ms. Williams decided to con- vert because of her comfort and interest in Judaism and the Holo- caust, according to her attorney Catherine Farrell. Rabbi Chaim Bergstein of Bais Chabad of Farmington Hills has been working with Ms. Williams on her conversion for about a year. "To convert a person we have to have a clear vision of his or her belief system and see his or her willingness to follow the practices of the Jewish people,” Rabbi Bergstein said. "We've covered the basic principles of Torah, the laws of kashrut and Shabbat. She is being tutored in Hebrew and has done quite a bit of work. The primary thing is that she has to live in accordance with Jewish law and that means not working on holidays. This has been a ma- jor stumbling block and her con- version could be immediate if this was not in the way." - Ms. Williams contends that her job was threatened if she didn't show up for work during the High Holidays last year. On another occasion, she says, the assistant superintendent of per- sonnel told her he never would have hired her if he knew she needed so much time off. Ms. Williams claims she was involuntarily transferred after the district refused to give her time off last year. Then, she says, the school principal started mak- ing unannounced visits to her class and parents were asked to write letters about her teaching ability. Superintendent James H. Doyle said the law provides that employers must make reason- able accommodations in situa- tions like this but he wonders how many days are reasonable. "How many days can teachers take off before it hinders their performance? We want some guidelines," he said. While there are 13 holy days in the Jewish calendar, usually six or seven will fall within the school year. Ms. Williams, who spends Shabbat with families in West Bloomfield or Oak Park, said that since filing the lawsuit she is try- ing to "function as if it is business as usual" at school. Janet Cooper, the deputy di- rector of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, said there are essentially two ways em- Edith Williams said her job was threatened if she didn't work. ployment discrimination cases are examined. The first is to de- termine whether the employee was treated in a disadvantageous manner. "If religion, gender or race ap- pear to be the causal factor in that treatment, then one can con- clude more likely than not some discrimination is involved," Ms. Cooper said. The employer's policy is also examined. If the policy is "fair on its face but disadvantages a small number of people, it could be con- cluded that discrimination is in- volved," according to Ms. Cooper. Ezra Roberg, a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools and an Oak Park school-board member, said he is able to take days off for religious holidays by using his sick days. He gets 15 sick days a year. "I've never had a problem in all the years that rve been in De- troit," Mr. Roberg said. He recounted one incident when all Detroit teachers had to report to work on a Saturday as part of a strike settlement. "We felt we were being penal- ized because there was no way we were going to make up a day by working on Saturday," Mr. Roberg said. "At one point they were going to dock us pay but in- stead we were forced to take it off as a sick day." ❑