Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New suits target religious and disability non-accommodation, as well as sexual harassment, (Apr 3, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“An employer, in consultation with an employee facing a disability, must consider whether an accommodation is reasonable. Revoking a previously granted reasonable accommodation can violate the ADA.”

In separate developments, the EEOC announced its settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit against a Mississippi employer for an unspecified amount of monetary relief and certain injunctive relief. The federal agency also filed lawsuits against employers in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois, raising claims of disability and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation.

Fired day after pregnancy revealed. Smoke BBQ, LLC, and Thorny Oyster, LLC, operators of Cosmos Restaurant in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, will pay significant monetary damages and provide other relief to settle allegations that they violated Title VII when the restaurant fired a female server in November 2023 the day after the company learned of her pregnancy. The worker had held her position for less than a week when Cosmos terminated her. The settlement requires the restaurant to provide mandatory training, make policy changes, and meet reporting obligations.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi; the case is No. 1:25-cv-00278.

Refused to reassign as disability accommodation. St. Vincent Hospital, a medical facility operating Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center (CSV) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, violated the ADA by refusing to reassign a long-term employee as a reasonable accommodation and firing her instead, according to an EEOC lawsuit. The employee fractured her foot and tore tendons in her ankle. After returning from medical leave and working light duty in a patient care position for months, she requested reassignment as a reasonable accommodation for her disability. Purportedly, a vacant receptionist position in which the employee could perform with her restrictions existed, but the employer did not reassign her and fired her instead. CSV stated in its termination letter that she would not be eligible for rehire until she was “fully recovered” or had “a release for full duty,” the EEOC said.

“Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations is a crucial part of the ADA and allows employees with disabilities to successfully participate in the workforce,” said EEOC District Director Melinda Caraballo. “When an employee can no longer perform the essential duties of her current job due to a disability, reassignment to a vacant position should be considered as an accommodation under the ADA.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the District of New Mexico; the case is No. 1:26-cv-00968.

Ongoing reasonable accommodation revoked by new management. According to an EEOC lawsuit, Houston Division, dba Kroger grocery store #300, in Houston’s Clear Lake/NASA area, violated the ADA when a self-service checkout attendant suffering from neuropathy, who for three preceding years worked successfully using a walker, was allegedly stripped of that reasonable accommodation by new management. The employee’s neuropathy limited her ability to walk and move, and her feet went numb if she was required to stand for too long. Kroger’s new management allegedly failed to interact with the employee to determine if the previously granted accommodation was reasonable or if another was potentially available. Instead, management told her to seek leave, which she did not want or need, until she could return to work without an accommodation. She was terminated when she could not support a need for leave with medical documentation, the EEOC said.

“An employer, in consultation with an employee facing a disability, must consider whether an accommodation is reasonable,” noted EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Claudia Molina. “Revoking a previously granted reasonable accommodation can violate the ADA.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division; No. 4:26-cv-02448.

Deacon’s religious accommodation revoked. The Cogar Group, Ltd., violated Title VII when it failed to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs, instead forcing him to choose between attending services at his church and keeping his position as a security guard, the EEOC claimed in a lawsuit. In February 2024, a Fairfax, Virginia-based security services company allegedly told the security guard, a disabled veteran who had worked for the company in New Orleans part-time with Sundays off since March 2021, that his schedule would be changed to Saturday and Sunday. He purportedly told his supervisor that the new schedule would interfere with his religious beliefs because he is a devout Baptist and a deacon, and his faith requires him to attend church on Sundays. However, the company refused to alter the new schedule to accommodate his religious obligations and the security guard was forced to resign, the EEOC said.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Eastern District of Louisiana; the case is No. 2:26-cv-00661.

Manager, other males, sexually harassed female workers. An EEOC lawsuit contended that Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc., violated Title VII when it subjected female employees at the cannabis company’s Collinsville, Illinois, facility to unlawful sexual harassment. Allegedly, at least as early as February 2021, the facility manager and other male employees continually harassed female employees, including touching, sexual comments, sexual advances, requests for sexual relations, and comments about the appearances and bodies of female employees and customers. Numerous female employees purportedly complained to HR personnel about the sexual harassment, but the company failed to stop the conduct. At least one woman was forced to resign because the environment was intolerable, the EEOC said.

EEOC District Director David S. Davis explained, “The alleged harassment in this case was particularly egregious because the facility manager himself engaged in the conduct and comments at issue, making it even more difficult for employees to complain and obtain relief.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois; the case is No. 3:26-cv-378.

Companies: Smoke BBQ, LLC; Thorny Oyster, LLC; Cosmos Restaurant; St. Vincent Hospital; Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center; Houston Division; Kroger; The Cogar Group, Ltd.; Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc.

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