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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday filed suit against a North Carolina company that operates several Bojangles restaurants in the Charlotte, N.C., metropolitan area, charging it with failing to accommodate an employee’s Muslim beliefs.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western district of North Carolina in Charlotte in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Bo-Cherry, Inc., d/b/a/ Bojangles, Devin Charles applied for a job with Mathews, N.C.-based Bo-Cherry at its Charlotte restaurant in May 2012.
Mr. Charles was asked by the restaurant manager if he was a Muslim, and told he might need to cut his beard to work in the restaurant. Mr. Charles said he could not cut or trim his beard unless it exceeded the length of his fist because of his religion, and he was hired for a food preparation position.
Two days after starting work, however, Mr. Charles was told he had to shave his beard and he was terminated after he refused to do so, even though he offered to wear a “beard net,” which is similar to a hair net, as an accommodation.
The lawsuit charges the company with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
“Under federal law, employers have an obligation to attempt a fair balance between an employee’s right to practice his or her religion and the operation of their business,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, in a statement.
Tina Burnside, supervisory trial attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, added, “This situation, like most similar ones, could have been solved by an honest effort at a fair and practical accommodation.”
The company’s attorney said she has not yet seen the lawsuit.