Even in the bustling metropolitan melting pot that is New York, it is unlikely that, under normal circumstances, Tahita Jenkins and Eric Stern would ever likely have met.  But Ms. Jenkins, a black Pentecostal bus driver, and Mr. Stern, an Orthodox Jewish employment lawyer, have in fact not only met but become friends and allies in advocating for Ms. Jenkins’ religious rights.

The “matchmaker” for the partnership was Agudath Israel of America, a national Orthodox Jewish organization headquartered in New York City, which became aware of the fact that Ms. Jenkins had been fired by the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority for refusing, on grounds of modesty dictated by her religion, to wear pants on the job.

Agudath Israel, which has a long history of advocating for religious rights (and whose constituents well relate to concerns like Ms. Jenkins’), saw the MTA’s decision as unfair and perhaps even illegal.  Agudath Israel often files “friend of the court” briefs in major religious rights and other cases, and also often refers individuals whose employers deny them accommodation of their religious observances to attorneys like Mr. Stern.

Rabbi Mordechai Biser, Agudath Israel’s associate general counsel, immediately contacted Mr. Stern, of the law firm Sack & Sack, whose specialty is employment issues.

“When an MTA conductor once contacted us because he was told to remove his yarmulke,” says Rabbi Biser, “we contacted the agency and his religious needs were duly accommodated.  We would have tried to do the same for Ms. Jenkins but by the time the dispute came to our attention, she had already been fired.  We hope the MTA will yet change course, and not make her wait for a judge’s order.”

A meeting was arranged between Mr. Stern and Ms. Jenkins, she retained him as her attorney – and the rest, they hope, will one day be history, in the annals of religious liberty in the United States.

The MTA claims that the issue is one of safety, that wearing a skirt compromises the ability to drive, a claim Mr. Stern views with a raised eyebrow and a reference to the fact that observant Jewish women similarly shun pants in favor of dresses or skirts. “There aren’t Orthodox women all over Brooklyn crashing into poles,” he quipped to the New York Post.

Ironically, the MTA had originally insisted on pants for Ms. Jenkins on modesty grounds, only later raising the specter of a safety issue.

Mr. Stern expressed appreciation for Agudath Israel, which, he said “understands that religious discrimination in the workplace, no matter what religion it is, affects Orthodox Jews and all religious Americans.”

And he expressed the hope that the eventual resolution of Ms. Jenkin’s case will not only return her to her job but “create an awareness of the importance of religious tolerance.”

No one, he says, “should have to compromise his or her beliefs to put food on the table.”