Tagore v. United States

• Decision Date: 13 November 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–20214.,12–20214.
• Citation: 735 F.3d 324
• Parties: Kawaljeet K. TAGORE, Plaintiff–Appellant v. UNITED STATES of America; United States Department of Homeland Security; Federal Protective Service; United States of America Department of the Treasury–Internal Revenue Service, Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

735 F.3d 324

Kawaljeet K. TAGORE, Plaintiff–Appellant

v.UNITED STATES of America; United States Department of Homeland Security; Federal Protective Service; United States of America Department of the Treasury–Internal Revenue Service, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 12–20214.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Nov. 13, 2013.

Scott David Newar, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Lowell V. Sturgill, Jr., Vesper Mei, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendant–Appellee.

Julia Fields Pendery, Dallas, TX, Hansdeep Singh, Jaspreet K. Singh, International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination New York, NY, for Amicus Curiae.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JONES, DENNIS, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

Kawaljeet Tagore (“Tagore”) was refused permission to wear a kirpan (a Sikh ceremonial sword) with a blade long enough to be considered a “dangerous weapon” under federal law inside the federal building where she worked for the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). She lost her job by failing to comply with the applicable regulations or receive an appropriate waiver. Tagore sued the United States and various federal agencies and employees, alleging violations of her religious rights protected by Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb et seq. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the government defendants on both claims. We affirm summary judgment on Tagore's Title VII claim. We reverse and remand her RFRA claim for further development of evidence concerning the government's compelling interest in enforcing against this plaintiff the statutory ban on weapons with blades exceeding 2.5 inches. 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), (g)(2).

I. BACKGROUND

In 2004, Tagore was hired as a revenue agent for the IRS in the George “Mickey” Leland federal building (“Leland building”) in Houston, Texas. In April 2005, she participated in an Amrit Sanskar ceremony, pursuant to which she was formally initiated into the Sikh faith. Following the ceremony, Tagore began wearing the five articles of the Sikh faith, including an approximately 9–inch kirpan, a Sikh article that “resembles a knife or sword but, unlike those objects, often has an edge that is curved or blunted.”

On her first day back at work after taking Amrit, Tagore passed through security without setting off the metal detector and proceeded to her office. After Tagore informed her supervisor, Nieves Narvaez (“Narvaez”), that she was wearing her kirpan, Narvaez instructed her to request a security waiver. He told Tagore to explain that she had recently been baptized into Sikhism and needed to carry the five articles of faith, including the kirpan, on her person at all times. Thereafter, Tagore began wearing a shorter kirpan with a blade approximately 3 inches long in hopes that it would alleviate the security concerns.

Two days later, Tagore provided Narvaez a letter from Amardeep Singh Bhalla (“Bhalla”), Legal Director for the Sikh Coalition, which explained that wearing the kirpan is a mandatory article of the Sikh faith. The letter asserted that kirpans are less dangerous than scissors, box cutters, or other objects that are regularly brought into federal buildings. Narvaez forwarded Tagore's request for a security waiver to Micralyn Baker–Jones (“Baker–Jones”), an IRS labor specialist. After discussing the issue with Baker–Jones, Narvaez placed Tagore on an interim Flexiplace arrangement so she could work at home until the matter was resolved.

The Federal Protective Service (“FPS”) advised Baker–Jones that 18 U.S.C. § 930(a) proscribes the knowing possession of “a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility,” and that the term “dangerous weapon” is defined by § 930(g)(2) as “a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2 1/2 inches in length.” FPS determined that Tagore's kirpan qualified as a “dangerous weapon” due to its 3–inch blade. The FPS also decided that Tagore's kirpan did not fall within any of the statutory exemptions. See§ 930(d)(1)-(3) (providing exemptions for (1) government officers acting in “lawful performance of official duties,” (2) federal and military officials, “if such possession is authorized by law,” and (3) other persons, if possession is “incident to hunting or other lawful purposes”). The FPS denied Tagore's request for a security waiver.

The IRS then convened a working group to determine whether Tagore's religious exercise of wearing a kirpan could be accommodated in a way that would not violate federal law. To assist in that process, Narvaez emailed Tagore to inquire whether she would consider (1) wearing a kirpan with a blade shorter than 2.5 inches, (2) wearing a dulled blade, (3) wearing a dulled blade sewn in its sheath, (4) wearing a ‘symbolic kirpan’ encased in plastic or lucite, or (5) leaving her kirpan at home or in her car while she was in a federal building. Sikh Coalition attorney Bhalla responded on Tagore's behalf. He noted that Tagore's kirpan already contained a dull blade and that the remaining accommodations would violate her conscience or religious mandates.

The IRS working group considered whether Tagore could work from home or be reassigned to a federal building without on-site security. Both ideas were rejected, however, because § 930(a) applies to nonsecure federal buildings and a permanent Flexiplace arrangement was not compatible with Tagore's job responsibilities. Seeing no other feasible option, the IRS directed Tagore to report to work at the Leland building without her kirpan by January 30, 2006, or be charged Absent Without Leave (“AWOL”). On January 24, Bhalla responded that “[i]n order to accommodate the IRS, the ‘bladed’ part of Ms. Tagore's kirpan is now three and one half inches long” and expressed that Tagore “sincerely believe[d] that any further reduction in the size of her kirpan ... would violate[ ] her sincerely held Sikh religious beliefs.” When Tagore attempted to report to work at the Leland building with her kirpan, she was denied entry. The IRS declared her AWOL and stopped paying her salary. In March 2006, after an unsuccessful mediation, Tagore filed a Title VII charge with the United States Treasury Department. She alleged that the IRS had discriminated against her on the basis of religion by not allowing her to enter the Leland building while wearing her kirpan and declaring her AWOL. On May 4, the IRS issued Tagore a “Notice of Proposed Adverse Action,” informing her of its intent to terminate her employment. She was formally terminated on July 11, 2006.¹

Tagore then filed suit in district court against the United States and several federal agencies and employees,² alleging that the defendants violated her rights under Title VII and RFRA. The district court dismissed several of Tagore's claims.³ These rulings left two live claims: the Title VII religious discrimination claim against Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew (“Lew”), ⁴ and the RFRA claim against the FPS, Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), the DHS Secretary, William Carmody III, David Hiebert, and 25 unidentified defendants. After discovery, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court, writing comprehensive opinions, granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on both claims, denied Tagore's motion for reconsideration, and dismissed the case with prejudice. Tagore timely appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a district court's summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. Moss v. BMC Software, Inc., 610 F.3d 917, 922 (5th Cir.2010). Summary judgment is warranted if, viewing all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, the record demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56). A fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law,” and a dispute is genuine if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

DISCUSSION

1. Sincerely held religious belief.

On appeal, Tagore asserts that her evidence creates a genuine issue of material fact concerning the sincerity of her religious practice of wearing a kirpan with a blade longer than 2.5 inches. The sincerity of a plaintiff's belief in a particular religious practice is an essential part of the plaintiff's prima facie case under either Title VII or RFRA. See Weber v. Roadway Express, Inc., 199 F.3d 270, 273 (5th Cir.2000) (Title VII); Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418, 428, 126 S.Ct. 1211, 163 L.Ed.2d 1017 (2006) (RFRA). After reviewing hundreds of pages of deposition testimony and exhibits, the district court concluded that Tagore did not create a triable issue of fact that her sincere religious beliefs require her to wear a kirpan with a 3–inch, rather than the statutorily permitted 2.5–inch, blade. With due respect to the able court, this is slicing too thin.

This court recently explored the threshold inquiry into a person's beliefs when discussing a prisoner's claim under the related Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). Moussazadeh v. Tex. Dept. of Criminal Justice, 703 F.3d 781, 790–92 (5th Cir.2012). Briefly, each case turns on its particular facts. Id. at 791. The specific religious practice must be examined rather than the general scope of applicable religious tenets, and the plaintiff's “sincerity” in espousing that practice is largely a matter of...