Apple has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the company of religious discrimination and retaliation against a longtime employee at its Reston, Virginia store, after he says managers denied him time off for the Sabbath and then fired him weeks after he complained. Tyler Steele, who had worked for Apple for 16 years, joining in 2007 as an Apple Genius technical support specialist, was terminated in January 2024. Apple has denied the allegations and did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 2025, accused Apple of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through religious discrimination and retaliation, according to the Baltimore Jewish Times. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Alexandria Division under case number 1:25-cv-01637, with EEOC regional attorneys prosecuting the case against defense counsel from Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, according to Westlaw Today. Apple and the EEOC unveiled the settlement in a federal court filing in Virginia on August 7, and the deal still awaits court approval.
A Scheduling Fight That Escalated Fast
According to the Baltimore Jewish Times, Steele converted to Judaism in 2023, and his manager at the time approved his request not to be scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays. But in September 2023, a manager identified in the suit as Anthony Dosch denied Steele’s requests to have Fridays and Saturdays off. The following month, Dosch warned Steele not to discuss politics or debates about the Israel-Hamas conflict at work, the paper reports.
In November 2023, Dosch issued Steele a misconduct warning alleging he had violated store grooming policies related to body odor, per the same account. That same month, Steele complained to Apple officials about antisemitic behavior and the denial of his religious accommodation. The EEOC suit alleges the body-odor justification was a pretext used to mask religious discrimination and retaliation, as reported by AppleInsider.
Rescinded Accommodation, Then Termination
In January 2024, Steele reminded Dosch that he could not work the following Friday for religious reasons, according to the Baltimore Jewish Times. Dosch is quoted in the suit as saying he could become a “rules nazi” with regard to company policies. Steele’s replacement manager then rescinded the Shabbat scheduling accommodation altogether, and Apple fired Steele from the store that same month…