Apple will pay $150,000 to settle a federal religious-discrimination lawsuit involving a Jewish employee who alleged the company refused to accommodate his observance of the Sabbath, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Thursday.
According to the lawsuit, the employee, who was based at an Apple store in Reston, Va., requested a schedule that would allow him to be off from Friday evening through Saturday evening to observe Shabbat. Apple rejected the request after adopting a new policy requiring weekend work, the federal agency stated.
The EEOC also alleged that the store manager who denied the accommodation later fired the employee in January 2024 because of his religion and in retaliation for complaints about the manager’s disparaging comments about his faith and the denial of his accommodation request.
“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 agency sued Apple under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. The law also prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about religious discrimination.
Under a two-year consent decree, Apple will pay the former employee $80,000 in back pay and $70,000 in compensatory damages. The company also agreed to update its religious-observance policy and provide written explanations when it denies accommodation requests.
Apple must also train relevant store managers and human-resources personnel on religious accommodation and retaliation requirements and submit periodic reports to the EEOC on accommodation denials and religious-discrimination complaints.
“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.”
