The US agency that enforces office anti-discrimination legal guidelines sued Apple on Tuesday, claiming the supervisor of a retail retailer made antisemitic feedback and denied a Jewish worker’s requests for time without work earlier than firing him.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the supervisor of the Reston, Virginia, Apple retailer advised the worker, Tyler Steele, that he smelled like physique odor, compelled him to work on the Jewish Sabbath and warned him to not talk about the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel with coworkers.
The lawsuit in Alexandria, Virginia federal courtroom accuses Apple of spiritual discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC is looking for unspecified again pay and different damages for Steele, together with punitive damages for “malicious and reckless conduct.”
Apple didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The EEOC routinely sues employers for discrimination primarily based on intercourse, race, incapacity, being pregnant and different protected traits. Under Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, a conservative Christian who was appointed to the put up by Republican President Donald Trump, the fee has positioned new scrutiny on non secular discrimination.
In a statement in August, Lucas claimed that in Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration “religious protections too often took a backseat to woke policies.”
According to Tuesday’s lawsuit, Steele began working on the Reston Apple retailer in 2007 as an “Apple Genius” offering recommendation and technical help to clients and transformed to Judaism in 2023.
A brand new supervisor employed that 12 months denied Steele’s requests to not work on Fridays and Saturdays, the EEOC mentioned. The Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.
Steele complained to Apple in regards to the supervisor twice, however the conduct didn’t change, in line with the lawsuit. The EEOC mentioned Steele was fired in January 2024, a couple of days after refusing the supervisor’s request to work on a Friday.