A Christian worker who was fired for refusing to go to work on Sundays to attend church, has won an anti-discrimination case against Tampa Bay Delivery Service, LLC, an Amazon delivery service provider in Florida, United States.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which brought the complaint on behalf of the employee, confirmed that the company will pay $50,000 (44,000€) in relief and oversee changes.

The consent decree resolving the lawsuit approved by the federal court, states that “Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination based on religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs unless it would pose an undue hardship”.

The EEOC explained the employee requested to take off Sundays to attend church services, and when Tampa Bay Delivery Service scheduled him for a Sunday shift, he reminded them that he could not work on Sundays due to his religion. However, he was fired when he failed to turn up for his shift.

Training on religious discrimination

In addition to the monetary fine, the delivery company will “provide training on religious discrimination to ensure that managers and dispatchers are aware of their obligations to prevent workplace discrimination and how to address accommodation requests”, says the decree.

They will also have to designate a religious accommodation coordinator, “to help in preventing future employees from being forced to choose between employment and a religious belief”, underlined Robert Weisberg, regional attorney for EEOC Miami District.

“We encourage other employers to follow Tampa Bay Delivery Service’s lead and review their religious accommodation policies and practices to ensure that workers are not denied opportunities due to their religious beliefs”, pointed out EEOC’s Tampa Field Office director Evangeline Hawthorne.