EEOC Sues Reynolds IGA Foodliner for Religious Discrimination

ATLANTA - Reynolds IGA Foodliner, Inc., owner and operator of a chain of restaurants and grocery stores, violated federal law when it refused to reasonably accommodate a Piggly Wiggly employee's request to refrain from working on Sundays, then fired her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the employee worked as a deli clerk at Reynolds IGA Foodliner's Piggly Wiggly store in Hazlehurst, Georgia. The employee is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and she observes a weekly Sunday Sabbath. Shortly after she was hired, the employee requested Sundays off to observe her Sabbath. The employee's supervisor denied the request, claiming it would then have to provide Sundays off to all employees. When the employee insisted upon the accommodation, Piggly Wiggly fired her in January 2025, according to the lawsuit.

"When an employee requests a religious accommodation, it must be individually considered on a case-by-case basis," said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta District. "Employers cannot deny religious accommodation requests simply because they assume, without evidence, that granting the accommodation would cause an undue hardship."

This alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the business. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Reynolds IGA Foodliner, Inc., Case No. 2:26-cv-00060) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

"Employers must take seriously their obligation under federal law to make a good-faith effort to accommodate employees' religious beliefs," said Darrell E. Graham, director of the EEOC's Atlanta District. "The EEOC remains committed to enforcing Title VII and protecting employees' rights to religious freedom."

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination .

The EEOC's Atlanta District Office has jurisdiction over Georgia and the counties of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper and Williamsburg in South Carolina.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .