Written by Don Byrd
Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Food Lion. The complaint alleges a store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina unlawfully refused an accommodation for, and fired, a Jehovah’s Witness employee.
From the EEOC press release:
Due to his religious beliefs and practice, upon hire [Victaurius] Bailey asked that he not be scheduled to work on Sundays or on Thursday evenings. According to the EEOC’s complaint, the store manager for Food Lion’s Market No. 1044 in Winston-Salem initially agreed to accommodate Bailey’s request. However, when Bailey was transferred to work as a meat cutter at Market No. 334 in Kernersville, N.C., the store manager there told Bailey that he did not see how Bailey could work for Food Lion if he could not work on Sundays. According to the EEOC, Food Lion fired Bailey on June 27, 2011 because he was not available to work on Sundays.
Employers have an obligation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide reasonable religious accommodations so long as it will not cause undue hardship. As the EEOC attorney noted, “no person should ever be forced to choose between his religion and his job.”
