The EEOC filed suit against Blue Eagle Contracting Inc., a Grass Valley, California-based bulk mail delivery contractor for the U.S. Postal Service, in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on April 3, 2026. The lawsuit alleges the company failed to return a Christian employee to his original weekday shift after he repeatedly requested accommodation to attend Sunday morning church services, ultimately compelling his resignation in December 2022.
According to the complaint, the driver informed supervisors of his religious obligations when Blue Eagle hired him in September 2022, and he was initially assigned a weekday delivery route between Reno and Tonopah, Nevada. The problems began when the driver voluntarily covered an emergency Sunday shift after a coworker's unexpected resignation. Despite repeatedly reminding supervisors that he needed to attend church on Sunday mornings and emphasizing his willingness to work Sundays only until a replacement was hired, Blue Eagle continued scheduling him for Sunday shifts even after hiring a replacement driver.
The EEOC alleges that Blue Eagle assigned the replacement driver to the weekday route while keeping the original employee on Sundays, forcing him to choose between his Christian faith and his employment. The driver complained multiple times but Blue Eagle refused to accommodate his sincerely held religious beliefs, ultimately causing him to resign in December 2022 rather than miss church services.
The lawsuit represents part of the EEOC's ongoing enforcement of religious accommodation requirements under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agency filed the case after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process, indicating Blue Eagle was unwilling to resolve the matter voluntarily. This case follows recent EEOC religious discrimination lawsuits against other employers, including The Cogar Group and Silver Cross Hospital.
"Employers are bound by federal law to explore a range of possible accommodations to ensure that employees retain their right to freely exercise their faith," said Christopher Green, district director for the EEOC's San Francisco District Office. Senior EEOC Trial Attorney Mariko Ashley added that "Employers are required to comply with federal law to prevent discrimination based on religion. To force employees to choose between exercising their religious beliefs and their livelihoods, absent undue burden on the employer, violates the law and the EEOC will hold employers accountable."
The case will proceed in federal court where the EEOC will seek monetary damages for the affected employee and injunctive relief requiring Blue Eagle to implement policies preventing future religious discrimination. Title VII requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on business operations—a standard the EEOC argues Blue Eagle failed to meet given the availability of the replacement driver.