Apple to Pay $150,000 After Denying Employee's Request to Observe Sabbath
Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought on behalf of Tyler Steele, a sixteen year Apple Store employee in Reston, Virginia. The EEOC said Apple denied Steele's request for time off from Friday sundown through Saturday sundown to observe the Jewish Sabbath after he converted to Judaism, citing a new weekend scheduling policy, and that the same manager who denied the request fired him in January 2024 after he complained about the manager's remarks about his faith. The settlement includes $80,000 in back pay and $70,000 in compensatory damages.
Under the two year consent decree, Apple must update its religious observance policy to require written explanations whenever an accommodation request is denied and provide Title VII training to store managers and human resources staff. An EEOC spokesperson said accommodating an employee's religious beliefs is not optional but an obligation mandated by federal law absent an undue hardship on the employer.
