MADISON, Wis. — The federal government has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Inc., and Walmart Stores East, LP in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging the company refused a religious accommodations request made by an assistant manager.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an assistant manager at a Walmart Supercenter in Hayward, Wisconsin., Edward Hedican, who is a Seventh-Day Adventist, asked not to be scheduled from sundown on Fridays to sundown on Saturdays so he could observe the sabbath as required by his religion.
Hedican asked for the scheduling accommodation when accepting the assistant manager position but the request was rescinded, the EEOC alleges.
"The EEOC has sued Walmart in the past for this very type of religious discrimination," EEOC Chicago District regional attorney Gregory Gochanour said in a statement. "An employer of Walmart's size and resources should know that the law requires employers to accommodate employees' religious beliefs, or at least make a sincere effort to accommodate them. The EEOC will go to court as many times as necessary to ensure Walmart understands its obligations under the law."
But Walmart denies the accusations, saying in a statement that Hedican misled it before he was hired.
"We do not tolerate discrimination and we have a long-standing practice of accommodating our associates’ religious beliefs and practices," the statement says.
"Being available to work weekends is essential for an assistant manager at Walmart. Mr. Hedican knew that, yet never told us he could not meet that obligation until after we offered him the job. Because he chose not to meet the assistant manager job requirements, we rescinded the job offer. We offered to discuss other positions but Mr. Hedican declined. We have attempted to resolve the matter and we remain open to further discussions."