Apple to pay $150,000 to settle lawsuit after firing Shabbat observant employee
JTA — Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that the company failed to accommodate a Jewish employee’s observance of Shabbat and later fired him after he complained of religious discrimination.The lawsuit, which was filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 2025, accused Apple of discriminating against Tyler Steele, a longtime employee of one of its stores in Reston, Virginia.Steele converted to Judaism in the spring of 2023, and while his manager initially approved his request not to be scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays due to his observance of Shabbat, another manager who replaced the previous one later rescinded the accommodation.According to the complaint, Steele’s new manager, Anthony Dosch, denied his requests to have the days off in September 2023, allegedly telling him that month that he “could become a rules Nazi with regards to our policies.”Days after the Hamas-led October 7,…
Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging religious discrimination and retaliation against a Jewish employee. The lawsuit claimed Apple failed to accommodate Tyler Steele's Shabbat observance at a Reston, Virginia store and later fired him after he complained. Steele, who converted to Judaism in spring 2023, initially received accommodation for not working Fridays and Saturdays, but a new manager, Anthony Dosch, rescinded it in September 2023. The EEOC alleged Dosch made inappropriate comments and issued a misconduct warning before Steele was fired in January 2024 after reiterating his religious inability to work on a Friday. Apple denied the allegations but will pay Steele $80,000 in back pay and $70,000 in compensatory damages, update its religious accommodation policies, and conduct employee training.
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