EEOC Sues Chick-fil-A Franchisee for Firing Manager Who Refused Saturday Shifts

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Hatch Trick Inc on May 15, 2026, alleging the Chick-fil-A franchisee violated federal law by denying an employee's request for religious accommodation. Hatch Trick Inc, which operates multiple locations in Austin, Texas, employed the woman as a manager responsible for managing delivery drivers.

The employee, a member of the United Church of God that observes the Sabbath on Saturday, requested during her initial job interview in August 2023 that she not be scheduled for Saturday work. Hatch Trick Inc honored the request for a few months. The employee, who was paid hourly and worked 45 to 50 hours per week, maintained her regular schedule of Monday through Friday plus some additional Sunday hours.

Beginning in February 2024, Hatch Trick Inc required the employee to work on Saturdays. The company told her she could not maintain her managerial role without working Saturdays and offered her instead a delivery driver position with lower pay, reduced benefits and reduced hours.

The employee proposed accommodations that would have allowed her to keep her role, including having a driver work in the dispatch role on her day off and working only after sundown on Saturdays.

Hatch Trick Inc fired the employee after she refused the delivery driver position. "Religious discrimination in the workplace is unlawful, and employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees' sincerely held beliefs," EEOC San Antonio Field Office Director Norma Guzman said. Chick-fil-A has a policy of closing on Sundays that has been in place for 80 years.

The company states its Sunday closing policy gives employees time to rest, enjoy time with their families and loved ones or worship if they choose. Chick-fil-A stated that as a franchise business, all employment decisions are solely the responsibility of each individual restaurant owner. The company is not named in the lawsuit.

The United Church of God is a Christian denomination that observes the Sabbath on Saturday, in contrast to Chick-fil-A's longstanding Sunday closing practice. The EEOC, a federal workplace watchdog, brought the case after the employee's termination.