Suit Against Synagogue Alleges Age, Religious Discrimination

Two former administrators at an Upper East Side synagogue are suing their one-time employer for $32 million, saying they were fired because of their age and because they are not Jewish. According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday against Congregation Emanu-El in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Marion Hedger, 49, and Phyllis Treichel, 52, said that as the synagogue's religious school attempted to become more "young and hip" in 2006, it began to discriminate against employees.

As the school took steps to implement its new policy, officials announced that there would be a turnover of teachers and that the plaintiffs should begin looking for new jobs, according to the suit.

The suit says the two women, who worked as registrars at the school for four years, received glowing letters of recommendation from the synagogue's senior rabbi, David Posner, after they left in May. In a letter to Ms. Hedger, Rabbi Posner said she was "very astute" and an employee who "never failed to seize the initiative whenever possible."

He also said she was not terminated because of her performance but for another reason, according to parts of the letter that were reprinted in the lawsuit. Ms. Hedger alleges that those other reasons were her age and religion, the suit says.

The women maintain that neither their religion nor knowledge of Hebrew had any relevance to their largely clerical work at the school, according to the suit.

The suit further alleges that the school's principal, Frances Oelbaum, was fired as a "direct result" of the "young and hip" initiative and was replaced by someone 15 years younger.

When the new principal, Saul Kaiserman, 40, arrived, he made it clear that he would promote and enforce the new vision of the school "regardless of qualifications or demonstrated capabilities" and allegedly believed that only Jewish people could work at the school, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, a Jewish woman in her 30s replaced one of the registrars.

A voice-mail message left with Mr. Kaiserman at home was not returned.

Multiple messages left with the synagogue, Rabbi Posner, and three senior administrators also were not returned yesterday.

The Fifth Avenue synagogue is the third-oldest reform congregation in the country and has a congregation of nearly 10,000 people.