Examples of EEOC Enforcement Efforts for Failure to Provide Religious Accommodations to Muslims

In recent years, the EEOC has filed numerous lawsuits against employers that the EEOC determined had unlawfully denied needed religious accommodations, often resulting in significant monetary relief. Examples include the following:

• EEOC settled a lawsuit against Blackwell Security Services regarding its failure to accommodate a Muslim employee. Blackwell had refused to exempt the employee from a company policy that all employees be clean-shaven, forcing him to choose between his job and his religious observance even though an accommodation would not have imposed a substantial burden on Blackwell. Blackwell paid $70,000 in compensation and agreed to train management employees on religious discrimination and report complaints to the EEOC.
• EEOC settled a lawsuit against JBS Swift, a meat-processing plant, to resolve allegations that a class of approximately 300 Muslim employees were denied the ability to pray and were harassed for praying during scheduled breaks. JBS Swift agreed to pay up to $5.5 million to the employees and to provide clean, quiet, appropriate, and safe locations for religious observances, including daily prayer.
• EEOC won a default judgment of over $520,000 for six Muslim women who were fired for refusing, on religious grounds, to comply with Aviation Port Services’ employee uniform policy requiring them to wear pants or knee-length skirts. 
• EEOC entered into a $4.9 million settlement agreement with United Parcel Service to resolve a lawsuit alleging that UPS prohibited its supervisory and customer contact employees from wearing beards or growing their hair below collar length; failed to provide religious accommodations for Muslims and others whose religious practices conflicted with that policy; and segregated those employees in back-of-the-facility positions. UPS also agreed to amend its religious accommodation process and conduct nationwide training, among other measures.
• EEOC filed suit against Logic Staffing , a Washington-based staffing and recruiting agency, alleging that it violated federal law by rejecting a qualified job applicant who is Muslim and asked for a religious accommodation to attend Friday prayer. According to the suit, Logic ended an interview with the applicant after he disclosed that he might need a longer mid-day break to attend Friday prayer, depending on how close the workplace was to a mosque. Logic then disqualified him from future employment after he asked to confirm that the reason he was not hired was due to his request for a religious accommodation. The case is currently pending in federal court. 

You can find more information on religious accommodations in the workplace with examples for Muslims.

If you suspect discrimination, contact the EEOC promptly because there are strict time limits for filing a charge.