Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations that a longtime Jewish employee at one of its Virginia stores faced religious discrimination and retaliation.

According to the lawsuit, Tyler Steele began working at Apple’s Reston, Virginia, store in 2007 as an Apple Genius, providing customers with technical support and advice. Steele converted to Judaism in 2023.

The EEOC alleged that problems began after a new manager took over that year. According to the complaint, the manager refused Steele’s requests to avoid working on Fridays and Saturdays because of his religious observance.

The lawsuit further alleged that the manager made derogatory remarks toward Steele, including telling him that he smelled bad, required him to work on Shabbos, and warned him not to discuss Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel with his coworkers.

Steele was fired in January 2024, just days after refusing a request from the manager to work on a Friday, according to the EEOC.

The federal agency accused Apple of religious discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, seeking compensation for Steele’s lost wages as well as additional damages.

The proposed $150,000 settlement was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a joint request by Apple and the EEOC to resolve the case.

Apple denied wrongdoing in court filings.

The settlement resolves the litigation without Apple admitting liability over the allegations.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)