Huge holiday rush doesn’t excuse legal obligations under Title VII: Employer pays $25K

A recently shuttered restaurant has agreed to pay $25,000 and provide other relief to settle a Title VII lawsuit filed on behalf of an employee who was ordered to work during the holiday rush — despite having a religious accommodation in place.

The EEOC filed a lawsuit, alleging Del Frisco’s Grille of Atlanta, LLC violated Title VII by failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and by terminating her employment.

The employee worked as a server and had an existing accommodation that allowed her to take Tuesdays off to attend worship services. However, in 2019, New Year’s Eve fell on a Tuesday.

No accommodation during holiday rush

Del Frisco “revoked [the server’s] accommodation and tried to force her to work—alleging it was mandatory for servers to work the holiday,” according to the EEOC.

The lawsuit further alleged the employer gave other servers who didn’t need a religious accommodation the day off — despite saying the holiday was a mandatory workday.

In the EEOC’s view, the alleged conduct violated Title VII. The EEOC filed a lawsuit after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliatory process.

The employer has agreed to pay $25,000 to the former employee and to provide religious discrimination training at its sister restaurants.

Info: Landry’s Restaurant Chain Subsidiary Pays $25,000 to Resolve Religious Discrimination Suit, 10/12/23.