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Manager allegedly denied days off for Jewish Sabbath

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Conduct didn't change after complaints to Apple ( AAPL ), agency

says

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Under Trump, US agency has upped scrutiny of religious

bias

By Daniel Wiessner

Sept 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. agency that enforces

workplace anti-discrimination laws sued Apple ( AAPL ) on

Tuesday, claiming the manager of a retail store made antisemitic

comments and denied a Jewish employee's requests for time off

before firing him.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the manager

of the Reston, Virginia, Apple ( AAPL ) store told the worker, Tyler

Steele, that he smelled like body odor, forced him to work on

the Jewish Sabbath and warned him not to discuss the October

2023 Hamas attack on Israel with coworkers.

The lawsuit in Alexandria, Virginia federal court accuses

Apple ( AAPL ) of religious discrimination and retaliation in violation

of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC is

seeking unspecified back pay and other damages for Steele,

including punitive damages for "malicious and reckless conduct."

Apple ( AAPL ) did not respond to a request for comment.

The EEOC routinely sues employers for discrimination based

on sex, race, disability, pregnancy and other protected traits.

Under Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, a conservative Christian who

was appointed to the post by Republican President Donald Trump,

the commission has placed new scrutiny on religious

discrimination.

In a statement in August, Lucas claimed that during

Democratic President Joe Biden's administration "religious

protections too often took a backseat to woke policies."

According to Tuesday's lawsuit, Steele started working at

the Reston Apple store in 2007 as an "Apple Genius" providing

advice and technical support to customers, and converted to

Judaism in 2023.

A new manager hired that year denied Steele's requests not

to work on Fridays and Saturdays, the EEOC said. The Jewish

Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on

Saturday.

Steele complained to Apple ( AAPL ) about the manager twice, but the

conduct did not change, according to the lawsuit. The EEOC said

Steele was fired in January 2024, a few days after refusing the

manager's request to work on a Friday.