CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The company that owns the Charlotte IHOP location on West Woodlawn Road has agreed to pay $40,000 and handle other relief to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed more than a year ago.
On Tuesday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that Suncakes LLC agreed to the settlement payout under a two-year consent decree. In addition to the payment of monetary damages, Suncakes will also provide annual training to managers about religious protections under Title VII, post a notice to employees about the settlement, and revise current policies to include protection for religious accommodations expressly.
The policy will be posted in all 17 locations Suncakes operates in North Carolina.
“Religious discrimination is intolerable,” said Taittiona Miles, lead trial attorney for the case. “Employers must respect all sincerely held religious beliefs, which includes providing reasonable accommodations when no undue hardship exists.”
The suit, filed in May 2023, came after a cook said his request to not work on Sundays was denied after a change in management. The cook said he was hired in January 2021 and granted the request by management then. However, the EEOC said new management was brought in around April 2021, and the new general manager instead placed the cook on the schedule for two different Sundays, becoming hostile to the previously-granted accomodation.
When the cook said he wouldn't work any other Sundays after the second shift, the general manager fired him. The suit also said the general manager made comments to other employees about the cook, including the thought it was "more important to go to church than to pay his bills".
The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the voluntary conciliation process.
The EEOC notes religious discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides for religious accommodations in the workplace and protects workers from retaliation for their religious beliefs.
Suncakes is owned by parent company Sun Holdings, based in the Dallas, Texas area.