EEOC Settles a Religious Discrimination Charge

The Young Men’s and Women’s Hebrew Association of Washington Heights and Inwood has agreed to pay $100,200 to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation charge brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the EEOC, the organization failed to accommodate a Christian employee who requested schedule flexibility so she could attend Sunday church services and leadership meetings required by her faith. The EEOC found that the employer denied the request and later retaliated against the employee, ultimately forcing her to resign in 2022. The agency concluded the conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so would cause undue hardship and prohibits retaliation for requesting accommodations.