Throughout its history, our country has espoused the values of religious liberty, and those values are securely fixed in our Constitution. Centuries later, the government further protected a person’s religious liberty through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under that law, employers are proscribed from discriminating or retaliating against employees because of their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, the law is not always observed in practice.

Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had settled a lawsuit on behalf of an employee who stated that he had been the victim of workplace discrimination. The man, who worked for AutoZone, was a member of the Sikh religion. According to the tenets of the religion, a Sikh must wear a particular bracelet and a turban.

The lawsuit claimed that the company denied him the ability to wear those items while at work. When he complained, the store retaliated and fired him, the suit alleged, because of his religion. In addition, the man operated in a hostile work environment. He was frequently subjected to demeaning and derogatory insults from his coworkers and even customers, who made sarcastic remarks suggesting he was a terrorist. His superiors did not prevent or stop others from engaging in this behavior.

Under the terms of the settlement, the man will receive $75,000. AutoZone must also enact new standards that outlaw discrimination against employees because of their religion. The standards must be applied across all of the business’s operations nationwide. In addition, the company must inform the EEOC of the steps it takes to address future complaints of discrimination from employees.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “AutoZone to Pay $75,000 to Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit,” Mar. 30, 2012.