HAZLEHURST, Ga. — A dispute over a workplace request at a south Georgia grocery store has led to a federal lawsuit and a settlement agreement, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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The case involves Reynolds IGA Foodliner, Inc., which owns and operates a chain of grocery stores, including a Piggly Wiggly in Hazlehurst.
According to the EEOC, the employee was hired as a deli clerk at the Hazlehurst store and soon requested a change to her work schedule.
The federal agency said the employee asked to have Sundays off so she could observe her Sabbath.
According to the lawsuit, the employee’s supervisor denied the request, saying that giving her Sundays off would mean the store would have to do the same for other employees.
The employee continued requesting the accommodation, and the company fired her in January 2025, the EEOC said.
“Employers cannot deny religious accommodation requests simply for fear of upsetting other employees,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District.
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The EEOC filed a lawsuit against Reynolds IGA Foodliner in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, alleging the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The law prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.
The company has agreed to pay the former employee $65,000 as part of a two-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit.
Reynolds IGA Foodliner will also update and distribute its religious accommodation policies and provide training to managers, supervisors and human resources employees who handle those requests.
The company must also post a workplace notice informing employees of the settlement and their rights to be free from discrimination.
“Employers must thoughtfully consider each request for religious accommodation on an individual, case-by-case basis and otherwise make good-faith efforts to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs,” Darrell E. Graham, director of the EEOC’s Atlanta District, said. “Employers must be aware of their obligations under federal law to provide reasonable religious accommodations absent undue hardship.”
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