Here, the ACLU represented Charles V. Piña, a school bus driver employed by the Carmel Unified School District from 1967 to 1974. The lawsuit was filed against the Board of Trustees of the Carmel Unified School District, the District superintendent, and the Board of Education of the State of California. Piña was a baptized member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which requires the observance of the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week as one of its core religious tenets. The observance of this day, which began after sundown on Friday, meant that Piña was unable to drive the bus during this time - a restriction that the school complied with and made accomodations for until November of 1974, when the plaintiff was required to drive the bus after sundown because no replacement driver could be found and despite "the extreme distress this caused him and his family since he was breaking a sacred and absolute religious law, according to his beliefs." Piña had previously been assured by his supervisor that there would be no difficulty in finding him a replacement for his Friday evening shifts.

After asserting, again, that he was unavailable to drive these shifts, Piña, who was unable to read, had two letters read to him and was told to sign one of them. One letter promised that he would drive irregardless of the hours, and the other was a letter of resignation, which he was coerced into signing, because of the above circumstances. The complaint states: "Maintenance of a pattern and practice of discimination on the basis of religion as demonstrated by defendants' coercive acts in securing Plaintiff's resignation, are in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, 1983, and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." The plaintiff sought both preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring that he be restored to his prior position with "full seniority and salary and with appropriate seniority and salary increments," as well as requiring that another driver be assigned during the Friday sundown period, and preventing further discimination on the basis of his religion. Additionally, he sought to have the above behavior declared illegal.

The court, in a judgement dated September 1, 1981, complied with nearly all of these requests, finding evidence of disciminatory practices by the Carmel Unified School District, and awarded Piña back pay in the sum of $32,106.89. Pursuant to obtaining all necessary licenses and certificates needed to perform his job, Piña was also to be reinstated to his former position. Attorneys fees in the amount of $25, 593.80 were also awarded.