Muslim Man Thrown Out Of Morristown Bar For Wearing Turban, Lawsuit Claims

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Justice Fitzgerald, a 21-year-old Muslim man, has filed a lawsuit against Homestead Bar & Kitchen in Morristown claiming he was discriminated against for wearing a turban as part of his religion.

Fitzgerald regularly wears a turban, both in public and in private, for religious reasons. On June 22, he claims he tried to enter Homestead Bar & Kitchen and was stopped by staff who asked him to remove his turban.

According to the lawsuit filed on July 24, staff told him that the establishment had a policy that the only headwear allowed in the bar were baseball caps.

Despite telling staff that he wears a turban for religious reasons, Fitzgerald claims he was still required to remove it if he wanted to enter the building.

He obliged and then went to the bathroom where he realized he was discriminated against. After putting his turban back on and leaving the bathroom, he sat down and a manager told him he had to leave the bar, according to the suit.

The suit states that staff grabbed Fitzgerald by the arm and slammed him against a wall after commanding him to leave. Police were present outside Homestead, where Fitzgerald was taken outside, but did not charge him with anything.

Homestead Bar & Kitchen did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Fitzgerald is filing charges against Homestead Bar & Kitchen for a violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, negligence, assault, and battery as well as a civil liability complaint for bias crime. The suit claims that staff actions were motivated by religious bias.

Along with requesting monetary damages, Fitzgerald’s attorneys are asking that Homestead Bar & Kitchen adopt and/or amend anti-discrimination policies and provide employees with proper training for these policies.