A Chasidic man from the United States is suing McDonald’s, claiming the fast food giant refused to hire him because of his religiously-mandated long beard.
The unnamed claimant, who applied for employment as a maintenance worker at a Florida McDonald’s, argues that it amounts to a violation of his freedom of religion.
According to Newsweek, the company offered him the job on the condition he would shave his beard.
The Chasidic man claims his offer to wear a ‘beard net’ instead was rebuffed by McDonald’s.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, seeks the wages he would have earned for the three years he would have been employed.
In 2017, the EEOC assisted a Rastafarian winning $30,000 in a case against Disney World, after being fired for not cutting his dreadlocks, which he wore for religious reasons.
"Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees' sincerely held religious beliefs so long as this does not pose an undue hardship to the business," the EEOC stated.