9th Circuit Upholds Restaurant's Win In Title VII Case

In EEOC v. Serrano's Mexican Restaurant, LLC, (9th Cir., Jan. 5, 2009), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an Arizona federal district court jury's determination that a restaurant chain had reasonably accommodated a fired manager's religious beliefs. The 9th Circuit's decision affirmed the trial court's denial of a motion for a new trial in the Title VII religious discrimination case. Yesterday's East Valley Tribune reports that in the case the EEOC claimed that the restaurant chain had infringed the rights of Terra Naeve when it fired her for leading Bible studies for the employees she managed. The company had a policy against managers fraternizing with subordinates. Naeve had rejected a company offer to move her to a different restaurant so that she would no longer be supervising her Bible group participants.