EEOC Prevails In Religious Discrimination Claim Against Aldi's

In EEOC v. Aldi, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25206 (WD PA, March 28, 2008), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought suit in a Pennsylvania federal district court against Aldi, Inc. on behalf of former employee Kimberly Bloom who was fired from her position as a cashier after she refused for religious reasons to work on Sundays. Bloom describes herself as "a Christian, Protestant, and a Born Again Christian." Aldi had offered Bloom time off to attend religious services on Sunday, but Bloom insisted that her religious beliefs included spending all of Sunday with her family. It also offered her rotation and voluntary shift swapping. The court rejected Aldi's motion to dismiss, finding that the accommodations it offered were inadequate and that Aldi's failed to establish that reasonable accommodation would have resulted in undue hardship. The court found that genuine issues of fact remain as to Bloom's claims of retaliation and claims for punitive damages.