Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve a federal religious-discrimination lawsuit brought over allegations that the company refused to accommodate a Jewish employee’s Shabbos observance and later fired him because of his religious practices, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday.
The case involved a Jewish employee working at an Apple store in Reston, Virginia, who asked that his schedule allow him to remain off from Friday evening through Saturday evening so that he could properly observe Shabbos. According to the lawsuit, Apple rejected the request after implementing a new requirement that employees work on weekends.
The EEOC further alleged that the store manager who refused the requested religious accommodation subsequently terminated the employee in January 2024 because of his religion and in retaliation for complaints the employee had made about disparaging remarks concerning his faith and the refusal to accommodate his Shabbos observance.
“Accommodating an employee’s religious beliefs is not optional,” Debra Lawrence, the EEOC’s Philadelphia regional attorney, stated. “It is an obligation mandated by federal law in the absence of an undue hardship.”
The federal agency brought its lawsuit against Apple under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law bars employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of religion and requires reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs and practices unless providing them would create an undue hardship for the employer. Title VII also protects employees against retaliation for raising complaints about religious discrimination.
As part of a consent decree that will remain in effect for two years, Apple agreed to pay the employee $80,000 in back wages along with another $70,000 in compensatory damages. The company must also revise its policies governing religious observance and provide employees with written explanations when requests for religious accommodations are rejected.
The agreement additionally requires Apple to provide training on religious accommodations and retaliation protections to relevant store managers and human-resources personnel. Apple will also be required to periodically report to the EEOC regarding denied religious-accommodation requests and complaints involving alleged religious discrimination.
“No employee should be forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood,” Mindy Weinstein, director of the EEOC’s Washington Field Office, stated. “The EEOC will continue to enforce federal laws protecting employees’ rights to religious accommodation.”
{Matzav.com}
