Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations involving a former Apple Store employee in Virginia. The settlement ends the case without Apple admitting wrongdoing.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit last September, alleging that Apple fired employee Tyler Steele after he converted to Judaism and requested changes to his work schedule so he could observe the Sabbath. According to the complaint, Steele had consistently received positive performance reviews before requesting that he not work on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Apple denied the allegations in court documents and did not publicly comment on the lawsuit while the case was pending.
Reuters reported that Apple has now agreed to settle the claims for $150,000, bringing the legal dispute to a close under a consent decree.
Apple will pay $80,000 in back pay and $70,000 in damages
Under the settlement, Apple will pay Steele $80,000 in back pay, which will count as wages and remain subject to applicable taxes and withholdings. The company will separately pay another $70,000 covering compensatory damages and interest.
The consent decree explains how Apple will make the payments:
“One payment will be $80,000, which constitutes back pay. The second payment will be $70,000, which constitutes compensatory damages and interest.”
Apple also agreed to provide training covering religious discrimination and workplace accommodation requirements for certain employees in its Northern Virginia retail market. During the two-year consent decree, the company must also report denials of religious accommodation requests and complaints involving religious discrimination to the EEOC.
The agreement makes clear that settling the lawsuit does not amount to an admission that Apple violated employment law.
“Apple denied these allegations but agreed to resolve the lawsuit,” the consent decree states.
The settlement resolves the EEOC’s claims while requiring Apple to follow the additional training and reporting requirements for the next two years.
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