EEOC Sues Texas Chick-fil-A Operator in Religion Case
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Chick-fil-A franchisee Hatch Trick Inc. over religion-based scheduling at an Austin, Texas, location after a worker said she could not work Saturdays for Sabbath observance. The agency said the employee asked for that accommodation during her August 2023 interview and was later fired after refusing a lower-paid driver job.
Norma Guzman on accommodations
Norma Guzman, the EEOC San Antonio Field Office director, said: "Religious discrimination in the workplace is unlawful, and employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees' sincerely held beliefs." Her statement came as the agency filed suit over the handling of a worker who belonged to the United Church of God, which observes the Sabbath on Saturday.
According to court documents filed by the EEOC, the woman worked at one of Hatch Trick’s Chick-fil-A locations in Austin and managed delivery drivers. She was paid hourly, worked 45 to 50 hours per week from Monday through Friday, and also worked some additional Sunday hours.
August 2023 request
The employee asked during her initial August 2023 job interview not to be scheduled for Saturday work for religious reasons. Hatch Trick honored that request for a few months, then required her to work on Saturdays in February 2024. The company allegedly told her it was not possible to keep her managerial role if she did not work Saturdays.
The EEOC said the worker proposed alternatives, including having a driver cover the dispatch role on her day off and working only after sundown on Saturdays. Hatch Trick allegedly responded by telling her to accept a delivery driver position with lower pay, reduced benefits and fewer hours. After she refused that job, the EEOC said the company fired her.
Hatch Trick and Chick-fil-A
The case focuses on a franchise location, not the corporate chain as a whole. Chick-fil-A told KVUE: "It's important to know that, as a franchise business, all employment decisions are solely the responsibility of each individual restaurant owner." The company also closes on Sunday, a detail that places the worker’s Saturday Sabbath request in direct view of the restaurant’s own scheduling practices.
The lawsuit now puts the employer’s handling of that request under federal court review. For workers with Sabbath observance or other fixed religious schedules, the case turns on whether a restaurant can require weekend hours in an hourly managerial role or must consider another arrangement first.
