The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Chick-fil-A franchisee Hatch Trick Inc. over allegations that it denied a worker’s request to keep Saturdays off for religious reasons and then fired her when she would not take a lower-paying job. The case centers on a manager at one of the company’s Austin, Texas, restaurants, where she had handled delivery drivers.
According to the EEOC, the employee, who belongs to the United Church of God and observes the Sabbath on Saturday, asked during her initial job interview in August 2023 not to be scheduled on Saturdays. Hatch Trick honored that request for a few months, then required her to work Saturdays in February 2024. The agency says she was paid hourly and worked 45 to 50 hours a week, mostly Monday through Friday, along with some Sunday hours.
The dispute matters now because the EEOC has taken it to court, turning an internal scheduling fight into a federal religious discrimination case. Norma Guzman, a regional attorney for the agency, said religious discrimination in the workplace is unlawful and employers must make reasonable accommodations for workers’ sincerely held beliefs. The EEOC says the worker proposed alternatives, including having a driver cover the dispatch role on her day off and working only after sundown on Saturdays, but Hatch Trick told her she could not keep her managerial role unless she worked Saturdays and instead should accept a delivery driver position with lower pay, fewer hours and reduced benefits.
That is where the case sharpens. Chick-fil-A’s brand is closely tied to religious observance: its website says the chain closes on Sunday so employees can rest, spend time with family and loved ones, or worship if they choose. But this case is not about corporate policy. It is about a franchisee, and the company told an ABC News affiliate that employment decisions are solely the responsibility of each individual restaurant owner. The EEOC says Hatch Trick fired the worker after she refused the demotion. If the agency proves its case, the lawsuit will test how far a franchise owner must go to accommodate a worker’s Sabbath observance before a scheduling decision becomes unlawful.
