He asked for religious accommodation — then came a PIP and a pink slip
A former Allstate employee is suing the insurer, alleging he was fired over religious beliefs that kept him from turning his camera on during meetings.
The lawsuit, filed March 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Houngbo v. Allstate Insurance Company, No. 1:26-cv-03340), alleges that Apelete Houngbo, who worked as a Financial Consultant at Allstate from June 2023 to June 2025, was discriminated against, denied a religious accommodation, and ultimately let go because of his Indigenous religious practices.
According to the filing, Houngbo's beliefs prohibit him from appearing on camera during meetings and from taking part in activities involving alcohol. Allstate did not have a policy requiring employees to keep their cameras on, the suit states, but Houngbo's reluctance to do so was viewed unfavorably by management and negatively noted in his performance evaluations.
The sequence of events laid out in the filing is one HR professionals will want to pay close attention to.
In April 2025, after a report accused Houngbo of being uncooperative, he contacted Allstate's Human Resources department and explained that the conduct in question was tied to his religious beliefs. He also submitted a written request for accommodation, asking the company to respect his beliefs, stop the negative evaluations connected to them, and accommodate him going forward.
The suit alleges that...
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