Grocery chain Kroger recently settled a religious discrimination lawsuit in which two former employees alleged that the company fired them for refusing to wear an apron with a logo they believed resembled a rainbow LGBTQ Pride flag.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit on the former employees' behalf in September 2020.
Kroger agreed to pay $180,000, including $70,000 to each employee, to settle the religious discrimination lawsuit to "avoid additional costs and uncertainties of future litigation," per the EEOC. The supermarket chain also agreed to create a religious accommodation policy and give managers more-intensive training in preventing religious discrimination.
"The EEOC commends Kroger on its decision to create a policy describing the process for requesting a religious accommodation," Faye A. Williams, regional attorney in the EEOC's Memphis District Office, said in a statement. "The parties in the case worked in good faith to resolve this matter, and the commission is pleased with the resolution."
Case Details
In 2019, Kroger implemented a new dress code that required most store employees to wear an apron that prominently featured a multicolored heart symbol to support its "Kroger's Promise" campaign, according to the lawsuit.
The grocery chain said the four colors of the heart—blue, yellow, red and light blue—represented the supermarket's commitment to give customers friendly and caring service, to provide them with fresh...
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