Tiano v. Dillard Department Stores, Inc.

WIGGINS, Circuit Judge:

Mary Tiano sued her employer Dillard Department Stores (“Dillard’s”) for unlawful termination in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., for failure to make reasonable accommodation of her religious beliefs. Dillard’s terminated Tiano, a Dillard’s salesperson, after she departed on a ten-day “pilgrimage” to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia.

The district court found in favor of Tiano, holding that (1) Tiano established a prima facie case of religious discrimination, (2) Dillard’s failed to demonstrate that it had made a reasonable effort to accommodate Tiano’s religious…