National Federation of the Blind Sued for Religious Discrimination by EEOC

Advocacy Group Terminated an Employee because He Would Not Work on the Sabbath, Federal Agency Charged

The National Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind and low-vision people in the United States, violated federal law when it refused to allow an employee to observe his Sabbath and instead terminated him because of his religion, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a recently filed lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Joseph R. Massey II is a practicing Hebrew Pentecostal, a Christian denomination, and abstains from working from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday based on his sincerely-held religious beliefs. The National Federation of the Blind hired Massey for a bookkeeping position at its Baltimore office in November 2013. In January 2014, the Federation told Massey he had to work certain Saturdays. Massey explained he could not work Saturdays due to his religious faith and suggested alternatives such as working on Sundays or working late on week nights other than Fridays. EEOC charged that the Federation refused to provide any reasonable accommodation and instead fired Massey because he could not work Saturdays due to his religious beliefs.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's sincerely-held religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. The National Federation of the Blind, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-02484-GLR) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

"Employees should not have to choose between their jobs and their religious convictions when a religious accommodation will not unduly burden others," said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr.

EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence added, "Most religious accommodations are not unduly costly, such as allowing an employee to switch his schedule to observe his Sabbath. No employee should be forced to choose between earning a living and following the dictates of his faith."

EEOC's Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Its legal staff also prosecutes discrimination cases arising from Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.