The company that owns a North Carolina IHOP restaurant has agreed to pay $40,000 to a former employee who was forced to work Sundays in violation of his religious beliefs.
Suncakes LLC and a subsidiary in the state will pay the money and provide other relief as a result of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) more than a year ago.
The EEOC issued a release saying Suncakes agreed to the settlement payout under a two-year consent decree. The company also will also provide annual training to managers about religious protections under Title VII, post a notice to employees about the settlement, and revise current policies to include protection for religious accommodations expressly.
The policy will be posted in all 17 locations Suncakes operates in North Carolina.
The lawsuit was filed after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the voluntary conciliation process.
"Religious discrimination is intolerable," Taittiona Miles, lead trial attorney for the case, said in the EEOC release. "Employers must respect all sincerely held religious beliefs, which includes providing reasonable accommodations when no undue hardship exists."
The lawsuit involved an IHOP employee who, under a previous owner, had been granted a religious accommodation of not working on Sundays to honor his religious observances.
Following a change in management in April 2021, the new general manager expressed hostility toward the accommodation and required the employee to work on Sundays. After the employee told the general manager that due to his religious beliefs, he would no longer work on Sundays, the general manager fired him.
The general manager was also alleged to have made comments to other employees such as, "religion should not take precedence over [the employee's] job" and that the employee supposedly "thinks it is more important to go to church than to pay his bills."
The EEOC said alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides for religious accommodations in the workplace and protects individuals from religious discrimination and retaliation.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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