Overview
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Hatch Trick Inc., a Chick-fil-A franchise operator in Austin, alleging religious discrimination.
- The complaint says a manager who belongs to the United Church of God asked not to work on Saturdays for her Sabbath and disclosed that need during hiring.
- Hatch Trick allegedly honored the request for several months, then required Saturday shifts, offered a lower-paid driver role, and fired her after she refused the demotion.
- The EEOC says this violated Title VII, which requires reasonable religious accommodations unless they create significant hardship for the business, and it says it tried to settle before suing.
- Chick-fil-A corporate is not named in the suit, and the outcome could shape how franchise employers handle faith-based scheduling after the Supreme Court’s 2023 Groff decision raised the bar for denying accommodations.