Amazon delivery provider settles claim it fired worker who needed Sundays off as religious accommodation

Dive Brief:

Tampa Bay Delivery Service, an Amazon delivery service provider, agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced Jan. 27.
In its lawsuit, EEOC alleged that an employee asked for Sundays off so he could attend church. The employer fired the worker when he didn't clock in for a Sunday shift, despite the worker's reminder that his religious obligations prevented him from showing up that day.
The employer agreed to provide training to managers and dispatchers to prevent religious discrimination, EEOC said. It will also designate a religious accommodation coordinator.

Dive Insight:

As EEOC noted in its announcement about the settlement, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their religion. It's common for religious discrimination claims to center on accommodation issues, and they frequently include details about scheduling, similar to those EEOC included in its suit against the delivery service.

For instance, in 2019, a jury awarded a hotel worker $21.5 million in damages, front pay and back pay after it found she suffered religious discrimination in violation of Title VII. The worker had received Sundays off as an accommodation for her religious worship — she was a longtime member of the Soldiers of Christ Church. But a supervisor eventually insisted she come in on Sundays and ultimately fired her for unexcused absences.

In guidance, EEOC encourages employers to communicate with employees who need schedule adjustments to accommodate religious practices.

There have been instances where courts have sided with employers that deemed an employee's religious accommodation request unfeasible, however. A 2020 opinion from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrated that while the undue hardship standard employers need to meet to prove an accommodation request too difficult is a high bar, it's not impossible to clear. In that case, the court decided that it would have posed an undue hardship to require a nuclear power plant, because of its unique staffing needs, to make the requested schedule adjustments.