ACLJ Fires Off Demand Letter on Behalf of Employee Who Wants Off on Sundays To Attend Church

The ACLJ is again taking legal action to uphold an employee’s right under federal law to request off on Sundays to attend church. This time we are taking on a major pet food manufacturer in Pennsylvania.

Our client began working as a forklift operator at the manufacturing facility in 2018. Originally, he worked the night shift from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., making a religious accommodation to attend church unnecessary. Over time, however, the night shift took its toll on our client, and he opted for the day shift. The schedule implemented by his employer required all forklift operators, including our client, to work a Friday–Sunday shift every other week without exception. Accordingly, our client was being forced to miss church every other Sunday without reprieve. Upon learning of his rights under Title VII to request an accommodation, our client reached out to his supervisor to make such a request.

Rather than granting his request to swap his Sunday shift and/or work on another day of the week as the schedule would allow, the company forced our client to continue with his assigned work schedule and to drain his accumulated PTO (personal time off) for every Sunday he needed off to observe the Sabbath. After his PTO had been nearly drained, our client was told that he could then attempt to pick up extra shifts to make up for his loss in work hours and salary – a privilege that is based on seniority and is rarely available to our client.

We sent the company a demand letter explaining that employees, including our client, are not required to set aside their religious beliefs and practices when they enter the workplace. Title VII requires employers to accommodate an employee’s religious practice unless it would pose an “undue hardship” on the employer. EEOC guidance also makes clear that “employers may grant these accommodations for religious reasons but still refuse to grant them for secular reasons.” The U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified that an undue hardship to the employer exists only where the request substantially interferes with the operations of the employer and/or results in excessive costs. Temporary costs, voluntary shift swapping, occasional shift swapping, or administrative costs do not rise to the level of undue hardship. Moreover, undue hardship is not evidenced simply by showing that it must pay another employee overtime.

Here, our client is simply requesting to attend church and make up the hours missed on another day of the week without being forced to drain his PTO or go without pay. The arrangement offered by the employer not only fails to eliminate the conflict but also punishes our client because of his religious beliefs. There are 29 other employees who have the same job as our client on any given shift. This fact strongly suggests other employees could cover his shift at minimal cost to the employer and/or that an occasional or regular shift swap could provide a sufficient solution for accommodating our client’s request.

We are demanding that the employer comply with federal law and adhere to its obligation of granting a reasonable religious accommodation.

You can read about the ACLJ’s most recent efforts and unwavering commitment to defending employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs here, here, and here. If you have had a religious accommodation denied, you may have recourse under federal law, and the ACLJ is here to help. If we can assist you in any way, please contact us at ACLJ.org/HELP.