Apple settles EEOC claims about antisemitic retail manager for $150K
AAPL•Background on the EEOC case
The EEOC routinely files religious discrimination cases, but under Chair Andrea Lucas, a conservative Christian who was appointed to the post by Republican President Donald Trump, the commission has placed a renewed emphasis on the issue. That has included netting more than $25 million in settlements since last year in a series of cases involving employers' COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
According to the lawsuit, Steele started working at the Reston Apple store in 2007 as an "Apple Genius" providing advice and technical support to customers, and converted to Judaism in 2023.
A new manager hired that year denied Steele's requests not to work on Fridays and Saturdays, the EEOC said. The Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday.
The EEOC said Steele was fired in January 2024, a few days after refusing the manager's request to work on a Friday.
The lawsuit accused Apple of religious discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC was seeking unspecified back pay and other damages for Steele, including punitive damages for "malicious and reckless conduct."
The case is EEOC v. Apple, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, No. 1:25-cv-01637.
Claims in the lawsuit and Apple’s response
The EEOC claimed the manager of the Reston, Virginia, Apple store told the worker, Tyler Steele, that he smelled like body odor, forced him to work on the Jewish Sabbath, and warned him not to discuss the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel with coworkers.
Apple denied wrongdoing in court filings. The company and the EEOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
