The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against a Chick-fil-A franchisee, alleging the operator engaged in religious discrimination by refusing to accommodate an employee's request for Saturdays off to observe her religious sabbath.

The federal agency claims the franchisee denied the worker's request to have Saturdays off for religious observance, which would constitute a violation of federal employment law requiring employers to provide reasonable religious accommodations.

The case highlights the ongoing tension between business operations and religious accommodation requirements in the workplace. Federal law requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees' religious practices unless doing so would cause undue hardship to business operations.

Chick-fil-A corporate policy famously includes closing all company-operated locations on Sundays to allow employees to worship and rest. However, the lawsuit involves a franchised location, which operates under different management than corporate stores.

The EEOC lawsuit seeks remedies that typically include back pay, policy changes, and other corrective measures. The specific details of the employee's sabbath observance and the franchisee's reasoning for denying the accommodation were not immediately available.