In a settlement announced on Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), P.F. Chang's has agreed to pay a man $80,000 and retrain its employees on religious accommodations after denying him a job based on his request to have Sundays off due to his religious beliefs.
According to a press release by the EEOC, "Birmingham employees, supervisors, managers, and human resources personnel on equal employment opportunity rights and responsibilities, with an emphasis on religious accommodations. In addition, the employer agreed to post a notice regarding the resolution of this matter and the laws enforced by the EEOC."
"We commend P.F. Chang's for their commitment to ensuring that their restaurants make reasonable efforts to accommodate employees' sincerely held religious beliefs," said Bradley Anderson, director of the EEOC's Birmingham District Office, in the written statement. "This case should serve as a reminder for employers to train supervisors and representatives to recognize requests for religious accommodations. It is important all employers understand that federal law requires reasonable religious accommodations, unless such an accommodation would pose an undue hardship substantial to the overall context of the business."
According to the EEOC's charge investigation, during the interview process in August 2024 at the P.F. Chang's location in Birmingham, the applicant requested Sundays off due to his religious beliefs. The EEOC's investigation concluded he was not hired because of the accommodation request.
This violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on an individual's religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious observance or practice, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.
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