Overview
- Sara Fellig filed a federal lawsuit in Brooklyn alleging DMV staff forced her to remove a religious head covering for a driver’s license photo.
- The complaint describes a November visit to the Atlantic Avenue DMV in downtown Brooklyn, where she wore a sheitel, or wig, and a small hat while caring for a sick child.
- She says one employee insisted she take off the hat even after she said it was for religious reasons, and a second worker did not intervene.
- New York allows head coverings for sincerely held beliefs as long as the face is visible, and her lawyer says staff ignored that rule.
- Fellig seeks damages, destruction of the photo, and a free replacement license, and reports so far note no public response from the DMV.