Business · Los Angeles, CA Metro · August 18, 2026
Ex-In-N-Out Cook Sues, Says She Was Fired Over Sunday Church Requests
A former In-N-Out Burger cook has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired after her requests for Sundays off to attend church created conflict with a new manager, according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ and reported by Beliefnet. Arianna Rodriguez says she worked at an In-N-Out location in Long Beach, California, for nearly five years without disciplinary issues while consistently maintaining a schedule allowing Sunday worship. She claims a manager who took over in October began disputing her Sunday availability, leading to her first write-up in years. After raising religious-discrimination concerns with upper management in December, Rodriguez says conditions worsened. A June 24 food-handling incident led to her suspension and investigation, while she alleges coworkers who did similar things received only warnings. After again complaining to HR, she was terminated July 3 for an alleged policy violation. The lawsuit seeks damages, back pay, and reinstatement, alleging religious discrimination and wrongful termination. In-N-Out has not publicly responded, and the claims are unproven in court.
Source: Beliefnet
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
Whatever the outcome, this case is a reminder that requesting time to worship remains a live employment-law issue even at companies known for openly displaying Christian values, like In-N-Out's Bible-verse packaging. Federal and state law generally require employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's sincerely held religious practices, including Sabbath observance, unless doing so causes undue hardship. Christians in the workforce should not assume a company's public reputation for faith automatically translates into protection for their own religious scheduling needs at the local, managerial level. Believers should know their rights, document requests in writing, and understand that accommodation disputes are decided case by case, manager by manager, not by a company's marketing.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. — Hebrews 10:25
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From the book
A transaction should be judged by the value of the goods rather than by the identity or politics of the participants. Cutting off banking access to a ministry, or firing an employee over his religious views, violates the principle of honest scales. It introduces a false weight, which is ideology, into an economic exchange. Christian business ethics demands a return to merit and objective value.
— Chapter 23, “Biblical Foundations: Honest Scales”
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