Shift leader claims forced Bible readings, denied Sunday Mass, fired after joining the military
A former Pizza Hut shift leader in Tennessee says she was harassed over her Catholic faith and pushed out after enlisting in the military.
That is the thrust of a lawsuit filed April 23, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee against Apple American Group LLC, which does business as Pizza Hut. The plaintiff, Tristan Bowman, is currently serving overseas with the U.S. military. She is bringing claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, better known as USERRA.
Bowman worked as a shift leader from around July 2023 until her termination on June 5, 2024. She says she was a hardworking, qualified employee who did her job well. What went wrong, according to the filing, had little to do with her performance and everything to do with her faith and her decision to serve in the military.
Bowman, a practicing Catholic, says her manager repeatedly mocked her beliefs in front of other employees. The filing states she was told she was "going to hell because she's Catholic" and that "she needed to be a housewife." She also says her observance of Ash Wednesday was ridiculed. On several occasions, according to the complaint, she was made to read Bible verses aloud at work in a way she describes as coercive and humiliating.
She also says the scheduling wasn't neutral. Coworkers who shared her manager's religious preferences were given preferred shifts, she alleges, while her own requests for time off to attend Sunday Mass went unmet. Schedules were posted at the last minute, the filing says, forcing her to either miss services or scramble for coverage.
Then came the military piece. In August 2023, Bowman told her employer she had enlisted. From that point, she says, things changed. Her manager allegedly made it clear he was unhappy with her decision and suggested, in substance, that she could keep her job if she walked away from her enlistment. Her schedule changed, her opportunities shrank, and the scrutiny ramped up, according to the filing. Her fiancé, now husband and also a former Pizza Hut employee, got similar treatment after joining the Army, she says. Employees without military ties, the complaint adds, were not treated the same way.
Bowman was fired on June 5, 2024. She says the reasons given, if any, don't hold up, and that her religion, her accommodation requests, and her military service were the real drivers. She is seeking back pay, front pay, damages for emotional distress, and punitive and liquidated damages, along with a jury trial.
For HR leaders, the case is a familiar reminder that manager behavior around religion and military service can quickly become layered federal exposure. Accommodation processes, scheduling practices, and supervisor training tend to be where these cases are won or lost long before a complaint is ever filed.
The allegations in Bowman v. Apple American Group LLC, No. 1:26-cv-01090, have not been tested in court. Apple American Group has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims. The company was not reached for comment before publication.
