Christian In-N-Out Worker Fired for Refusing to Give Up Church

A longtime In-N-Out employee in California is taking the beloved burger chain to court, claiming her Christian faith suddenly became a workplace problem after a new manager took over.

Arianna Rodriguez, who worked as a cook at an In-N-Out restaurant in Long Beach for nearly five years, alleges she was subjected to religious discrimination and ultimately fired after management began challenging her longstanding practice of keeping Sundays free so she could attend church.

According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Rodriguez says the arrangement had worked without issue for years.

That allegedly changed when a new manager arrived in October.

Rodriguez claims her inability to work Sundays because of her religious commitments quickly became a “recurring source of workplace conflict,” despite the company previously accommodating her church schedule.

She also alleges she received her first-ever disciplinary write-up after the management change.

By December, Rodriguez says she had escalated her concerns to higher-ranking managers, complaining about her schedule, her ability to attend church and what she believed was increasingly unfair treatment.

But according to the lawsuit, her complaints did little to resolve the situation.

Months later, tensions reportedly reached a breaking point following a June 24 incident involving food.

Rodriguez claims she believed the conduct involved amounted to food waste based on practices she had previously seen at the restaurant. The lawsuit does not spell out exactly what happened with the food.

In-N-Out allegedly referred the matter to human resources, suspended Rodriguez and opened an investigation.

Rodriguez insists she was not the only employee who had engaged in similar conduct. According to her lawsuit, other workers were allegedly given warnings, while she was suspended and eventually shown the door.

She says she again went to HR and complained that she was being treated differently from her coworkers.

Then, on July 3, Rodriguez claims In-N-Out terminated her employment over an alleged violation of company policy.

Now she is fighting back in court.

Rodriguez is suing In-N-Out for religious discrimination, wrongful termination and other claims. She is seeking unspecified damages, unpaid wages and reinstatement to her former job.

The lawsuit raises fresh questions about how far employers must go to accommodate workers’ religious practices, particularly when an employee says an arrangement had already been honored for years before new management stepped in.

In-N-Out had not publicly responded to the allegations in the lawsuit at the time of the original report.