Restaurant Will Pay $25K to Resolve Suit over Purported Forced Resignation after Hijab Accommodation Request
December 10, 2018
Blue Moon Diner Inc has agreed to pay $25,000 and furnish other relief to settle allegations that the Farmington, New Mexico, restaurant violated Title VII when it refused to accommodate an employee’s request to wear a religious headscarf at work. Specifically, Blue Moon Diner failed to accommodate the employee’s request to work while wearing a hijab, a head scarf worn by Muslim women for religious purposes. Moreover, the diner purportedly forced the employee to resign when she opposed the discriminatory denial of accommodation and chose her religious practices over her employer’s requirement that she stop wearing the hijab at work. Before denying an accommodation request based on a religious belief or practice, we recommend all employers contact SESCO to ensure compliance with federal and state law.
