Employers Should Allow Clothing Accommodations for Religious Beliefs

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Aviation Port Services, LLC, in which the EEOC alleged that the company fired several employees because they requested reasonable religious accommodations.  The EEOC’s lawsuit claims that six Muslim female employees requested that Aviation Port Services allow them to continue wearing long skirts, and that the company refused this request and fired all six employees.  All six employees worked as passenger service agents and all six also wore long skirts to conform with their sincerely held religious beliefs.  Late in 2016, however, the company informed the employees that they may no longer wear the long skirts.  The company told the women that they must wear either company-provided pants or knee-length skirts or face termination.  The women requested a religious accommodation, but they were still fired in January 2017 for their failure to comply with the uniform policy.  See EEOC v. Aviation Port Services, Inc., No. 1:18-cv-10909 (D. Mass.).