A former In-N-Out Burgers cook is taking the fast-food chain to court, alleging she was pushed out of her job after asking for Sundays off to attend church and raising concerns about religious discrimination with management and HR.
Arianna Rodriguez, a Long Beach resident, filed the suit against In-N-Out Burgers in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to the complaint filed in the case. The filing is a sprawling 12-count complaint demanding a jury trial and covers everything from religious discrimination to unpaid final wages.
The document lays out a timeline that began unremarkably. Rodriguez started as an hourly cook at the Long Beach location on East Carson Street in August 2021, earning $25.50 an hour on part-time shifts. For nearly five years, the complaint states, she had a clean disciplinary record.
That changed, according to the suit, around October 2025, when a new manager took over at her location. Rodriguez had previously informed In-N-Out she was unavailable on Sundays because of church attendance. After the management change, her Sunday availability allegedly became a source of recurring friction.
The complaint states Rodriguez received a disciplinary write-up, characterized as her only formal discipline in her entire employment history, after the new manager arrived and after the company was on notice of her religious observance. The timing is central to her retaliation argument.
The situation came to a head on June 24 after an incident involving food Rodriguez says she understood to be waste based on workplace practices she'd observed. In-N-Out suspended her and launched an investigation. Rodriguez alleges other employees involved in comparable food-related incidents received warnings rather than termination.
She was fired July 3 for what In-N-Out described as a policy violation.
Rodriguez argues that her termination was tied to her religious accommodation requests and complaints. She's suing for religious discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, and other claims. She is seeking lost wages, emotional-distress damages, punitive damages, and potentially reinstatement or rehiring.
