Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Geo Group, Inc.

Court Rules in Favor of Muslim Women Seeking Religious Accommodation at Work

This case involved Muslim women who worked for GEO Group, a private prison company. The women wanted to wear religious head coverings (hijabs) at work as part of their Islamic faith, but the company refused to allow this, claiming it violated their uniform policy and security requirements.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued GEO Group on behalf of the workers, arguing the company illegally discriminated against them based on their religion. A lower court initially sided with GEO Group, but the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this decision in 2010.

The appeals court found that there were important factual questions about whether allowing the head coverings would truly create an "undue hardship" for the company. The court determined that GEO Group hadn't proven that accommodating the workers' religious practices would be too difficult or expensive, meaning the case should go to trial rather than be dismissed.

What this means for workers: Employers must make reasonable efforts to accommodate workers' religious practices, including religious clothing or head coverings, unless doing so would cause significant hardship to the business. Companies can't simply refuse religious accommodations without showing they would create genuine operational or financial problems.