Taco Bell Franchisee Settles EEOC Suit On Religious Accommodation of Nazirite Employee

The EEOC announced yesterday that Family Foods, Inc., a North Carolina corporation that operates a chain  of Taco Bell restaurants has settled an EEOC lawsuit that had been brought against it charging that the company failed to accommodate the religious needs of a Nazirite employee whose religious beliefs prohibited him from cutting his hair. After Christopher Abbey worked at the restaurant for six years, the company informed him he could no longer work for the company unless he cut his hair to comply with its grooming policy. In the settlement, the company agreed to pay $27,000 in damages, adopt a formal religious accommodation policy, post a copy of its policy and conduct annual training on Title VII.