The EEOC filed suit against The Cogar Group Ltd. in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, charging the Fairfax-based security services company with religious discrimination after it refused to modify a schedule change that would have required a devout Baptist employee to work Sundays. The security guard, a disabled veteran who had worked part-time for the company since March 2021 with Sundays off, was forced to resign in February 2024 when the company implemented a new Saturday-Sunday schedule.
According to the lawsuit, the employee told his supervisor the new schedule conflicted with his religious beliefs as a Baptist deacon whose faith requires Sunday church attendance. The company refused to alter the schedule to accommodate his religious obligations, creating what the EEOC characterized as an unlawful choice between faith and employment. "Federal law entitles employees to accommodations for their religious practices," said Michael Kirkland, director of the EEOC's New Orleans Field Office. "Absent undue hardship, it is unlawful for an employer to force an employee to choose between his religious practice and his job."
The EEOC filed the lawsuit after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process failed. The complaint alleges violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees' religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on business operations. The agency is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages for the affected employee.
The case represents the latest in a series of religious accommodation enforcement actions by the EEOC, which has increased its focus on workplace religious discrimination in recent years. The agency has filed multiple lawsuits involving Sunday work schedule conflicts, including recent cases against Blue Eagle Contracting and Silver Cross Hospital over religious accommodation failures. Such cases often involve employers' failure to explore flexible scheduling options or shift swaps that could resolve religious conflicts.
"When it is feasible for an employer to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs, but it chooses not to, the employer violates Title VII," said Jacqueline Barber, a senior trial attorney in the EEOC's New Orleans Field Office. The case underscores the agency's position that employers must engage in an interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations before concluding that religious practices cannot be accommodated.
The lawsuit highlights ongoing challenges faced by religious employees in industries requiring weekend coverage, particularly in security services where 24/7 operations are common. For employers, the case serves as a reminder that religious accommodation requests must be carefully evaluated on an individual basis, with documentation of any undue hardship analysis if accommodation is denied.