JEWS AID PENTECOSTAL BUS DRIVER IN PANTS FIGHT

[Amelia]

JEWS AID PENTECOSTAL BUS DRIVER IN PANTS FIGHT

By JEREMY OLSHAN

Transit Reporter

NYPost

June 25, 2007 -- An Orthodox Jewish organization has hired attorneys to represent the Pentecostal bus driver fired by the MTA for refusing to wear pants.

Agudath Israel of America, which defends Jewish interests, thought Tahita Jenkins' firing could set a dangerous precedent for Orthodox Jewish women, who, like Pentecostals, can only wear skirts.

"It's a funny partnership," said Eric Stern, whose firm, Sack & Sack, is handling the case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "But she's not looking to cash out. She just wants her job back." Transit officials said that Jenkins' insistence on skirts would endanger her passengers' safety.

But Jenkins claims in her EEOC complaint that the MTA only mentioned safety as an afterthought.

"They first told her it was a modesty issue," Stern said. "They were concerned that passengers would look up her skirt, which is ludicrous. They will have a tough time proving that it's dangerous to drive in a skirt - after all, there aren't Orthodox women all over Brooklyn crashing into poles."

The NYC Transit Authority, a division of the MTA which runs the buses, did offer to allow Jenkins to wear culottes, but she refused, saying, "Those are just wife pants."

She countered by offering to wear leggings under her skirt, but transit officials said there was still a chance the skirt could get caught on something.