A former Chick-fil-A employee is part of a federal lawsuit against the Texas franchise where she worked after allegedly being fired when she declined to accept shifts that would violate her religious beliefs.
While the chicken eatery is well-known for being closed on Sundays to allow employees to be with families and “worship if they choose,” an Austin Chick-fil-A franchise is being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the now-former employee, Laurel Torode, claims she was told she had to work on Saturdays.
“According to a complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and obtained by FOX Business, Hatch Trick, Inc. — which operates several Chick-fil-A restaurants in the Austin area — allegedly discriminated against employee Laurel Torode, whose faith prohibits her from working on Saturdays,” Fox Business reported. “Torode, a member of the United Church of God, reportedly disclosed during her interview that she observes the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.”
(Video Credit: KHOU)
Months after the employee’s request was accommodated, the location reportedly changed its position.
“In early February 2024, Defendant told Torode that going forward it would require her to work on Saturdays, to include the period in which she observes the Sabbath,” the complaint noted.
Torode reportedly refused when she was told she had to work on Saturdays and was offered a lower-level delivery driver position, a demotion from her supervisory job. Though she reportedly tried to work out an alternative, the employee was eventually terminated.
“The duty under federal law to provide reasonable accommodation of religion reflects an acknowledgement by our society of the importance of faith in workers’ everyday lives and an abiding respect for those who observe religious practices as an expression of that faith,” acting EEOC Dallas Regional Attorney Ronald L. Phillips said in a statement.
“Just as adherence to the dictates of one’s own conscience is not optional, so too an employer’s duty under Title VII is obligatory, and the EEOC stands ready to enforce that legal duty,” Phillips added.
Torode was allegedly denied “reasonable accommodation of her religion and termination from her employment because of her religion,” according to the federal lawsuit, which claimed the violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Chick-fil-A told Fox Business that “as a franchise business, all employment decisions are solely the responsibility of each individual restaurant owner.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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