Success! Our Civil Litigation department obtained a religious accommodation from a trucking company for a Muslim truck driver who requested time to attend Jummah prayers on Fridays. The trucking company first offered an accommodation that would have caused our client to lose his guaranteed weekly pay, if he was assigned a driving trip that prevented him from attending Jummah prayers on Fridays. Under this “accommodation,” the employer forced our client to choose between practicing his faith and losing his income, or keeping his income but violating his faith.
Title VII does not require this.
As the Supreme Court clarified in Groff v. DeJoy, Title VII requires employers to accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless the employer can demonstrate a significant business hardship. Our attorneys filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on his behalf, and both sides agreed to mediate. After mediation, the trucking company proposed a new, more reasonable accommodation that allows our client to take alternate shifts and/or travel time and still attend Jummah prayers. We are pleased to secure this accommodation for our client, which will hopefully allow others to continue their employment as well without sacrificing their faith.
