Mavis Tire, a national tire and auto service chain based in White Plains, New York, has reached a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and will pay $304,000 after it was found to have discriminated against a Jewish candidate because of his Sabbath observance.
According to the commission’s investigation, the candidate interviewed for a management position in the Central New York area and during the interview asked to be exempt from working Friday evenings and Saturdays.
Following the request, the company did not advance his candidacy for the management position, but instead offered him a lower-level position as a tire technician with a more flexible schedule. When the candidate repeated his demand not to work on the Sabbath, the company withdrew the job offer altogether.
The commission ruled that the company’s conduct violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination and retaliation against applicants or employees who file complaints of discrimination.
“Employers may not refuse to hire a job applicant to avoid approving a request for religious accommodation,” said Arlene Nieto, the commission’s acting director in New York. “Employers must make reasonable efforts to accommodate the employee’s sincere religious beliefs, unless such accommodation would cause an unreasonable hardship.”
As part of the settlement, the company pledged to update its religious accommodation policy, provide training to retail management employees in the Central New York area and to national human resources employees involved in hiring processes and handling religious accommodation requests.