Center One And Capital Management Group Pay $60,000 To Resolve Religious Accommodation Lawsuit

Are you an employer who is currently being sued by the EEOC or private counsel over some form of discrimination? If so, you should know that federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees based on their religious practice. In other words, the EEOC and federal law both hold that an employee should never have to choose between their job and the free practice of their religion. For that reason, employers are expected to make accommodations for employees who practice specific religions to ensure that the employee can both practice their religion and maintain their job. Employers are expected to make “reasonable accommodations” unless those accommodations would create “undue hardship.”

In the case we’re about to review, the employer failed to make a reasonable accommodation to an employee that would not have created an undue hardship for the employer and was sued by the EEOC.

What happened? 

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Center One, LLC, a provider of consumer debt collection services, and Capital Management Services, LP, a related company based in Buffalo, New York, will pay $60,000 to settle a religious accommodation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Center One employee who was also an adherent of Messianic Judaism requested a reasonable accommodation from Center One to not work on religious observance days. According to the EEOC, Center One refused to grant the employee a schedule modification to observe religious holidays because he was unable to provide a certification from a religious leader or religious organization supporting his request.

Instead, the company imposed “disciplinary points” against the employee for his religious-based absences, even after being informed he was unable to obtain the requested certification because he was not a member of a congregation. As a result, the employee was forced to resign, the EEOC alleged.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs, practices, and observances so long as it does not create undue hardship for the employer.

Sanctions against the company 

A federal court approved an 18-month consent decree resolving the litigation filed on behalf of the employee. In addition to paying the former employee $60,000 in back wages and compensatory damages, Center One and Capital Management Services are prohibited from unlawfully denying reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, and practices. The companies are specifically barred from requiring that employees provide a certification from a religious leader, organization, or group as a general precondition of obtaining a religious accommodation. Both companies are required to create and disseminate an employment policy governing the provision of reasonable accommodations for religion and provide training to company officials regarding employee requests for accommodation.

Talk to an Employer Defense Attorney Today 

Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employers in lawsuits filed by the EEOC or private counsel regarding various forms of discrimination in the workplace. If you are being sued by the EEOC, then you will need a law firm to represent your interests that is experienced in defending companies from harassment claims. Call our Columbus employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/center-one-and-capital-management-services-pay-60000-eeoc-religious-accommodation-suit-0