Debt Collector to Pay $60,000 in Religious Discrimination Suit

A debt collection service provider will pay $60,000 to settle claims it denied an employee unpaid time off to observe religious holidays, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Friday.

According to the EEOC, a Center One employee, an adherent of Messianic Judaism, requested a reasonable accommodation of his religious belief requiring abstaining from work on religious observance days. Center One refused to grant him a schedule modification to observe religious holidays because he was unable to provide a certification from a religious leader or religious organization supporting his request.

The EEOC said that instead, the company imposed disciplinary points ...