She was asked the same question twice during one interview - then rejected two days later
A Virginia-based event caterer allegedly refused to hire a woman because she wears a hijab, the EEOC claims in a new federal lawsuit.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the complaint on September 16, 2026, in the Eastern District of Virginia, naming Design Cuisine and its parent company, Elior North America, as defendants.
According to the complaint, the applicant - a practicing Muslim who wears a hijab at all times in public as part of her sincerely held religious beliefs - applied for an event server position with Design Cuisine in or about September 2024. The role required applicants to be at least 18 and authorized to work in the US. Prior restaurant or catering experience was not required.
The hiring process started well enough. The complaint alleges the applicant completed a phone screening with the company's recruiter on September 25, 2024. The recruiter said she was interested in the applicant's candidacy and would be in touch about an in-person interview. Shortly after, the recruiter confirmed an in-person interview for October 7, 2024, by text message and email.
Then the in-person visit took a turn.
When the applicant arrived at Design Cuisine's Arlington, Virginia office, the same recruiter who had conducted the phone screen greeted her and signed her in, the filing states. While the applicant waited for her interview to begin, the recruiter asked whether she would remove her hijab if she were hired.
The applicant said she would not.
The interview went ahead with one of the company's staffing managers, the complaint alleges. The two discussed the job duties of the event server role and the applicant's work history. The staffing manager described the company's dress code and mentioned dates for upcoming training sessions. The staffing manager then directed the applicant to create an account on Elior's online application portal and provided a computer for her to do so.
After the applicant created her account and submitted an application, the staffing manager took additional pre-employment verification steps, including copying her I-9 documents, according to the filing.
Then it happened again.
The complaint alleges that after returning from copying the documents, the staffing manager also asked the applicant whether she would remove her hijab if hired. Again, she said no. The staffing manager allegedly said the company would evaluate whether the applicant's wearing of a hijab would be an issue, and that they would be in touch about the position.
Two days later, on October 9, 2024, the applicant received an automated rejection email, according to the complaint. The email came from an "Elior-NA" address and was signed by the "Elior North America Talent Acquisition Team."
After rejecting the applicant, Design Cuisine continued to interview and hire other people for the same event server role, the EEOC alleges. The filing further states that around the same time the applicant applied and interviewed, the company hired individuals who did not have prior restaurant or catering experience.
The applicant then contacted a human resources coordinator at Elior to complain about religious discrimination, according to the filing. The EEOC alleges Elior processed her complaint but "refused to take any corrective action."
The EEOC investigated and, on April 1, 2026, issued a determination finding reasonable cause to believe the defendants had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Conciliation efforts failed, and the agency issued a notice of conciliation failure on June 5, 2026, clearing the path for litigation.
The complaint brings two claims under Title VII. The first alleges the defendants refused to hire the applicant because of her religion - Islam - and her practice of wearing a hijab. The second alleges they failed to reasonably accommodate that practice. Both claims allege the conduct was intentional and done "with malice or with reckless indifference" to the applicant's rights under federal law.
The EEOC is seeking a permanent injunction barring religious discrimination in hiring, back pay with interest, compensation for emotional distress, and punitive damages. It also wants the court to order the defendants to implement anti-discrimination policies and mandatory training on religious discrimination and accommodation for everyone involved in recruitment and hiring.
One thread running through the complaint is the corporate relationship between the two defendants. Design Cuisine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elior North America, and the EEOC alleges the two operate as a single employer. The filing points to shared management, a common employee handbook that refers to workers as employees of "Elior North America," a shared hiring portal, and the fact that Elior issues W-2s for Design Cuisine staff. Even the job posting referenced both companies but carried only Elior's equal employment opportunity statement, according to the complaint.
For HR teams, the facts alleged here land squarely on dress code policy and interview conduct - two areas where religious accommodation obligations under Title VII are easy to get wrong and where the EEOC has shown it will litigate.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested in court, and no judge has ruled on the merits.
