EEOC Sues Blue Eagle Contracting for Religious Discrimination

RENO, Nev. - Blue Eagle Contracting, Inc., a Grass Valley, California-based bulk mail delivery contractor for the U.S. Postal Service, violated federal law when it failed to return a Christian employee truck driver to a weekday shift so he could attend Sunday morning church services, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, in September 2022, Blue Eagle hired the driver, who informed supervisors of his religious obligations on Sundays stemming from his Christian faith. He was assigned a weekday delivery route carrying bulk mail between Reno and Tonopah, Nevada. The driver worked this weekday route for several months until he volunteered on an emergency basis to fill a Sunday morning shift after a coworker unexpectedly resigned.

The driver reminded his supervisors multiple times that he needed to attend church services on Sunday mornings and said he was only willing to work Sunday mornings until a replacement driver for the weekend shift was hired. Blue Eagle hired a replacement but continued to schedule the driver for Sunday shifts, the EEOC said.

The driver complained, but Blue Eagle continued to schedule him for Sundays, while the replacement drove the weekday shift. Forced to choose between his Christian faith and his job, the driver resigned in December 2022. The suit alleged that Blue Eagle's failure to accommodate the driver's sincerely held religious beliefs ultimately compelled him to leave his job.

"Employers are bound by federal law to explore a range of possible accommodations to ensure that employees retain their right to freely exercise their faith," said Christopher Green, district director for the EEOC's San Francisco District Office.

This alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from failing to accommodate the religious practices of their employees, absent undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Blue Eagle Contracting, Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-00226) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

Senior EEOC Trial Attorney Mariko Ashley said, "Employers are required to comply with federal law to prevent discrimination based on religion. To force employees to choose between exercising their religious beliefs and their livelihoods, absent undue burden on the employer, violates the law and the EEOC will hold employers accountable."

For information on religious discrimination, please visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination .

The EEOC's San Francisco District Office has jurisdiction over Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .