P.F. Chang’s, a well-known Asian restaurant chain famous for dishes like orange chicken and its “Great Wall of Chocolate” cake, has agreed to pay thousands of dollars to settle a religious discrimination claim from a job applicant in Alabama.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on Monday, Sept. 15, that the chain, which runs more than 200 restaurants nationwide, will pay $80,000 to the applicant. The applicant said he was not hired after requesting a religious accommodation.
“According to the EEOC’s charge investigation, during the interview process in August 2024 with the P.F. Chang’s location in Birmingham, the applicant requested Sundays off because of his religious beliefs,” the agency explained. “The EEOC’s investigation concluded he was not hired because of the accommodation request.”
The settlement requires P.F. Chang’s, which was acquired by private equity firms in 2019, to provide back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and to update its written policies and procedures on religious accommodations, the EEOC said.
The restaurant also agreed to provide training for its Birmingham employees and managers about equal employment opportunity rights and responsibilities, with a focus on religious accommodations.
“We commend P.F. Chang’s for their commitment to ensuring that their restaurants make reasonable efforts to accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs,” said Bradley Anderson, director of the EEOC’s Birmingham District Office. “This case should serve as a reminder for employers to train supervisors and representatives to recognize requests for religious accommodations.”
Anderson added that it is important for all employers to understand federal law requires reasonable religious accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the business.
A spokesperson for P.F. Chang’s was not immediately available for comment about the settlement.
