EEOC Sues Taco Bell Chain For Refusing To Accommodate Nazirite's Long Hair

On Thursday, the EEOC announced that it had filed suit against a company that operates a chain of Taco Bell restaurants in eastern North Carolina for failing to reasonably accommodate a former employee's religious beliefs.  In EEOC v. Family Foods, Inc., (ED NC, filed 7/28/2011), the EEOC charged that the company in 2010 informed employee Christopher Abby, who had worked for the company for six years, that he now needed to cut his hair to comply with the company's grooming policy. When he refused, he was fired. Abby is a practicing Nazirite and his religious beliefs preclude him from cutting his hair. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]