Technology giant Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $150,000 and update its religious observance policy to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of an Apple store employee who was denied a work accommodation so he could honor the Jewish Sabbath.
According to the EEOC’s suit, Apple failed to accommodate a Reston, Virginia employee’s request to be off from Friday sundown through sundown on Saturday in observance of the Jewish Sabbath. EEOC said Apple rejected the employee’s request because it conflicted with a new store scheduling policy regarding weekend work.
The EEOC’s suit also charged that the same store manager who denied the employee’s religious accommodation request later fired him in January 2024 because of his religion and in retaliation for his complaints about the manager’s disparaging religious comments and denial of religious accommodation.
“Accommodating an employee’s religious beliefs is not optional—it is an obligation mandated by federal law in the absence of an undue hardship,” said EEOC Philadelphia Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to accommodate employees sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, absent an undue hardship, and prohibits discrimination based on religion. Title VII also prohibits retaliation against an employee for complaining about or opposing discrimination.
The EEOC said it filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after first attempting resolution through its administrative conciliation process.
Under the two-year consent decree settling the suit, Apple will pay $80,000 in back pay and $70,000 in compensatory damages to the former employee, as well as implement an updated religious observance policy, which requires decision makers to provide employees with a written explanation for a denial of a religious accommodation.
Additionally, the company will provide training to store management and human resources personnel on Title VII.
Topics Virginia
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