EEOC Sues Staffing Agency For Disqualifying Candidate Based On Religious Accommodation
The EEOC has recently filed suit against a Washington-based staffing and recruiting agency for violating federal law after the company rejected a qualified job applicant who asked for a religious accommodation to attend Friday prayer. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Logic Staffing invited the applicant to interview at its headquarters the day after receiving his online application. On the strength of his application and the interview, the staffing supervisor began exploring available options when the applicant, a Muslim, disclosed a possible need for a longer mid-day break to attend Friday prayer. The applicant told the interviewer that he might not need additional time if his workplace was near a mosque, but the supervisor ended the interview and noted that the applicant was not hired due to his schedule and need to attend Friday prayer. According to the EEOC, Logic Staffing’s supervisor disqualified the applicant from future employment after he asked to confirm that the reason he was not hired was due to his request for religious accommodation.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits rejecting a qualified applicant because of their religion or their need for a religious accommodation. The EEOC is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief designed to prevent this sort of discrimination in the future.
Religious discrimination in hiring
The law exists so that no worker is forced to choose between their religious practice and their job. Title VII requires employers, employment agencies, and unions to make adjustments to the workplace environment to allow applicants and employees to practice their faith unless it would cause undue hardship to the employer.
In this case, the staffing agency could have explored alternatives with the applicant and contacted their business clients to determine if a reasonable accommodation could have been made. Instead, Logic Staffing turned away a qualified and promising candidate, thereby violating federal law.
Qualified workers have a right to request religious accommodations without fear of it costing them a job opportunity. In this case, the staffing agency should have worked with the applicant to determine whether or not he was a good fit for any of their business clients. Instead, they rescinded the opportunity based on an illegal reason, and now, they’re being sued by the EEOC.
Unfortunately, the EEOC cannot take every lawsuit that it comes across. Its resources are limited. In some cases, workers will have to file lawsuits themselves with the help of private counsel. Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of workers in discrimination suits.
Talk to a Dayton, OH Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today
Have you been passed up for a job because you requested a religious accommodation? If so, you may be able to file suit against the employer who denied your request. Call the Columbus employment lawyers at Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LCC to discuss the matter in greater detail and learn more about how you can recover damages for back wages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
Sources:
eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-logic-staffing-religious-discrimination-and-retaliation
