A former finance administrator at Harvard University has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the institution of religious discrimination related to his observance of Rosh Hashanah. Daniel Lilienthal initiated the complaint last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, naming the president and fellows of Harvard College as defendants.

Lilienthal worked remotely from New York as the associate director of Finance and Grants Administration at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research. According to the lawsuit, his direct supervisor, Jackie Blake, initially approved his request for paid leave on October 3 and 4, 2024, to celebrate the Jewish High Holy Day.

The complaint asserts that immediately after Lilienthal disclosed and took the time off, he encountered increased scrutiny and alleged performance issues. It states that Blake contacted human resources on the first day of his leave to raise concerns, despite not providing any previous negative feedback during the initial days of his employment.

Upon Lilienthal’s return, the lawsuit alleges that Blake confronted him regarding incomplete training modules that had no established deadlines and reportedly told him, “I don’t want you thinking you can just take off time whenever you want.” Lilienthal was terminated on October 16, 2024, after only 15 business days with the university, with the dismissal communicated via Zoom.

Harvard University had not issued a comment on the lawsuit as of the time this report was prepared.