Pittsburgh – Center One, LLC, along with Capital Management Services, LP, its affiliated entity based in Buffalo, New York, have agreed to a $60,000 settlement to resolve a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This legal action concerned allegations of religious accommodation violations, as announced by the federal agency.
The EEOC’s lawsuit arose from an incident in October 2016 involving a Center One employee who practiced Messianic Judaism. This employee sought a reasonable accommodation to observe religious holidays by abstaining from work on those days. However, the EEOC contended that Center One denied this request for a schedule adjustment because the employee could not furnish a certification from a religious leader or organization to validate his request. Despite being informed that the employee could not obtain such certification due to not being a member of a congregation, Center One reportedly penalized him with disciplinary points for his religiously motivated absences. This situation allegedly led to the employee’s resignation, according to the EEOC’s charges.
This alleged conduct was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs, practices, and observances, unless it imposes an undue hardship on the employer’s business operations. The EEOC subsequently filed a lawsuit (U.S. EEOC, et al. v. Center One, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-1242) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The employee, supported by attorneys from the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic, later joined the case as a plaintiff. Initially, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Center One and Capital Management Services. However, upon appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned this decision on February 1, remanding the case back to the district court for trial (U.S. EEOC, et al. v. Center One, LLC, et al., Nos. 22-2943, 22-2944).
Following the appellate court’s decision, the parties reached a settlement agreement before proceeding to trial. On October 24, the federal court officially approved an 18-month consent decree to resolve the litigation. As part of this decree, Center One and Capital Management Services are obligated to pay $60,000 to the affected employee. Furthermore, they are legally prohibited from denying reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, and practices in the future. Specifically, the companies are barred from requiring employees to present certification from a religious leader, organization, or group as a standard prerequisite for receiving religious accommodation. The settlement also mandates that Capital Management Services and Center One must develop and distribute a comprehensive employment policy that governs the provision of reasonable religious accommodations. Additionally, they are required to provide thorough training to company personnel who are responsible for handling employee requests for religious accommodations.
Debra Lawrence, EEOC Regional Attorney, emphasized the legal obligations of employers, stating, “Employers are legally bound to provide reasonable accommodations for the sincere religious beliefs, observances, and practices of their employees. This obligation extends to employees who may not belong to formal religious congregations and do not have religious leaders. For an employee to be entitled to religious accommodation under the law, their religious beliefs need only be genuinely held and do not require validation from any external authority.”
Jamie Williamson, EEOC District Director, added, “When an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs come into conflict with a workplace rule or requirement, it is imperative for both the employer and employee to engage in a cooperative effort to find a reasonable accommodation that resolves the conflict. Title VII’s objective of ensuring equal employment opportunity is best served when this interactive and collaborative process is focused on identifying suitable accommodations, rather than questioning the legitimacy of the employee’s religious beliefs.”
For individuals seeking further information regarding religious discrimination, resources are available at https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.
The EEOC’s Pittsburgh Area Office is part of the Philadelphia District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Legal professionals within the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also handle discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia.
The EEOC is dedicated to preventing and addressing unlawful employment discrimination and promoting equal opportunity for everyone. Additional details can be found at www.eeoc.gov. To stay informed about the latest EEOC updates, individuals can subscribe to email notifications at email updates.
