WASHINGTON — National Food Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Design Cuisine and Elior, Inc., operating as Elior North America, collectively a food services company providing event catering services in the Washington area, violated federal law when they refused to hire a Muslim applicant because she wore a hijab, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in October 2024, when the woman arrived to her in-person interview for an event server position, a recruiter and staffing manager for the defendants both separately asked the applicant whether she would remove her hijab while working if she were hired. The applicant advised she would not remove her hijab and, two days later, was denied the position, despite being qualified for the job.

“Under federal law, employers may not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of religion, including their religious observances and practices,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District. “Employers may not deny an applicant a position for which she is qualified due to her religious observances or practices, or because the employer may need to accommodate her religion.”

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and applicants based on their religion and failing to accommodate religious observances or practices, absent an undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. National Food Enterprises, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-03071) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Mindy E. Weinstein, director of the EEOC’s Washington Field Office, said, “Title VII provides critical protections for applicants with sincerely held religious beliefs and the EEOC is committed to vigorously protecting individuals’ religious rights.”

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

The lawsuit was initiated by the EEOC’s Washington Field Office, which has jurisdiction over Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office prosecute discrimination cases within the jurisdiction of the Washington Field Office.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.