LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada prison officials have reached a settlement with an Orthodox Jewish inmate who alleged that a new money-saving menu eliminated kosher meals.
Attorney Jacob Hafter tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal the settlement resolves a class-action federal lawsuit filed last June by his client, inmate Howard Ackerman.
It alleged the state Corrections Department was violating Ackerman's constitutional religious rights by failing to ensure its new "common fare" menu was kosher.
Prison officials insisted the menu was kosher and that it would save the department about $1.5 million in fiscal 2013.
Prisons officials are now agreeing within the next six months to obtain certification from a rabbi that food prepared for Orthodox Jewish prisoners meets religious kosher specifications.
The agreement awaits approval by U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com
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