A department store clerk is a devout Catholic. The employee decided that she needed to make a religious pilgrimage to a site in Yugoslavia where several persons have claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared to them. The department store grants unpaid leave at management’s discretion and prohibits the use of vacation time between October and December – the store’s busiest season. The employee requested unpaid leave for the period from October 17 to October 26 to make the pilgrimage. The employee felt that she had to go at that time, although the dates held no other particular religious significance. Citing general policy against taking time off during the busy season, her boss refused the leave. She went anyhow and was terminated. She sued.