Apple accused of firing worker over religious practices

Apple has been hit with a federal lawsuit accusing the company of denying religious accommodations and engaging in retaliatory firing.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Apple. The agency believes Apple Reston, located in Virginia, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The employee in question had worked for Apple for 16 years as an Apple Genius. The EEOC's press release notes that the employee had consistently received positive performance reviews.

However, when the employee converted to Judaism in 2023, he requested accommodation for Shabbat. Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and ends at nightfall on Saturday, and prohibits Jewish Sabbath-observers from performing certain kinds of work.

The new store manager denied the employee's request, claiming Apple's scheduling policy now prohibited him from having both Friday and Saturday off. Concerned he'd be terminated for insubordination, the employee worked on Shabbat, against his religious beliefs.

Shortly after the request, Apple began disciplining him for violating grooming policies. When he reminded his supervisor of an upcoming religious holiday, the company terminated him, claiming another violation of the grooming policy.

The EEOC believes the employee was fired for both his religious requests as well as complaining about the lack of accommodation. As the agency points out, Title VII also prohibits retaliation against an employee for complaining about or opposing discrimination.

Discrimination suits are nothing new for Apple

This isn't the first time Apple has been hit with a discrimination lawsuit. In 2022, a former patent attorney for Apple sued the company for discrimination and harassment after reporting a male colleague.

In 2021, ex-employee Cher Scarlett and others launched the #AppleToo movement to spotlight internal issues. The campaign followed weeks of public statements from Apple workers saying complaints about racism, sexism, and pay equity were ignored or dismissed by management.