Agudath Israel of America today hailed the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for bringing a lawsuit against a franchise of Dunkin’ Donuts. The lawsuit, brought against Citi Brands, LLC, charges that the franchise violated federal law by refusing to hire an employee because his religion forbade him from working on his Sabbath.
The employee, Darrell Litrell, is a Seventh-day Adventist who will not work from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. He had applied for a position of a donut maker and was given the job, only to have the job offer revoked once the employer was told that Litrell would not work on his Sabbath. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from refusing to hire people because of their religion, and requires employers to make an effort at a reasonable accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs.
Mordechai Biser, General Counsel of Agudath Israel, stated, “we applaud the EEOC for bringing this lawsuit. Employers need to know that it is illegal to refuse to hire an employee because of his or her religion, and that they are required by federal law to attempt to accommodate Sabbath observers in the workplace. Whether the employee is a Seventh-day Adventist, an Orthodox Jew, or anyone else who observes a day as his or her Sabbath, employers must make a reasonable effort to accommodate that observance.”
[TLS]
In a similar token its probably illegal to discriminate against frum ladies simply because they will have a lots of kids and take off for maternity leave often.
i was just called for an interview today for the largest home builder in the USA Ryan Hoes. We discussed training, salary and commissions…The second they heard that i cannot work on Saturday they changed their mind and withdrew as they could not offer me the position- although i am willing to work on Sunday and other legal holidays.
Sue!
I have very mixed feelings about this, as an observant Jew, I would hope that any employer would be understanding and flexible for my religious needs. In this case, Dunkin Donuts is a business that probably generates 90% of its revenue over the weekend, working Saturday is a necessity for any employee and I’m not sure a business like this should be forced to be flexible. What would the Agudah say about my company if we didn’t want to hire someone with morals that we don’t agree with ?
You’re not supposed to (and not required to) disclose that on an interview….
Friend- you think just like that you can sue someone? Even if you won you’d probably lose because of time and money you would have invested is wasted on little return. Huge companies have attorneys on deck and they have deeper pockets usually. Besides what’s the difference if a frum lady doesn’t get the job because they really want a goy? You think Mormons, seventh day Adventist or other goyim really care about our rights when were stepped on? You think they carry the same values we do? Why would they make a statement at all? Maybe the guy wasn’t a good fit in the end. Maybe watch the peas on our plate and not be concerned about taking a public stance on something that can open a universal can of peas.
Can someone please explain how this is discrimination?? Probably one of the dumbest lawsuits I ever heard.
And to just had an issue your just not paying attention. Construction companies need to operate on saturdays. If you can’t work saturdays your not the right one for the job. Its not because of your religion its because you won’t work saturdays. The fact that you can work sundays & legal holidays doesn’t help them a nickel. They want you Saturday not Sunday.
Can a bus driver in Lakewood sue if he’s forced to work on Christmas? I should hope so.
But judging from the comments in past years, some people don’t think so, unfortunately.
Had he disclosed during the interview that he can’t work on Shabbos, the whole thing would have been avoided. They would have said, Oh, sorry, we need someone for Saturdays.” If a company needs someone to work certain days, and punkt those days you can’t work, it’s not discrimination, it’s just you’re not the right guy for this job.
Ladies who gave babies every year are not fit for any real job. It’s not discrimination at all. Every normal company needs real people who want to work to work
Follow up to anon who always has a comment. I called the Hq of the company and they stated clearly this was a grave mistake by the in house recruiter. There schedule works that Saturday is a big day for sales and the sales team gets one week day off. There should be no issue for the company to accommodate me or any person to seek employment without needing to sacrifice their religious observance.
The same issue many frum doctors face but they do get hired with special accommodation.
I think these are the key words –
employers must make a reasonable effort to accommodate that observance.
We are mamash in Gauls!
That’s all we have to know!!!
Maybe we should make an asifa about this job matzav