Federal officials are suing the Raley’s supermarket chain, alleging one of its Chico stores engaged in religious discrimination against a courtesy clerk, then fired her because she did not complete a shift that conflicted with a religious meeting she had to attend.
The suit, which Raley’s says is unfounded and which it “will vigorously defend itself against,” was filed Wednesday in federal court in Sacramento by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Jennifer Webb, who was hired in May 2014 to work at the Raley’s store on Notre Dame Boulevard.
According to the complaint, Webb told Raley’s supervisors before she was hired that she was a Jehovah’s Witness and because of her beliefs could not work shifts after 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and before 4 p.m. on Sundays because she had to attend religious meetings at those times.