The EEOC announced on Wednesday that it has entered a consent decree in its lawsuit against Blackwell Security Services, Inc. The EEOC's lawsuit charged that the company violated Title VII by failing to give an exemption from its no-beard policy to a Muslim employee who worked as a concierge in Chicago, even though granting the accommodation would have imposed no cost and not created an operating burden on Blackwell. According to the EEOC:
To avoid losing his job, the employee complied and shaved his beard, causing him significant distress....
Under the consent decree resolving the lawsuit, Blackwell will pay $70,000 in compensation to the now-former employee. Blackwell will also provide training to relevant management employees on federal laws prohibiting religious discrimination and will report any additional complaints of religious discrimination to the EEOC for the decree’s duration.
