Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

Earlier this year, a jury awarded a terminated employee $21.5 million for her employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate her religious beliefs. In that case, a hotel dishwasher asked for Sundays off to be a missionary for her church and to “honor God.” Her employer permitted it for nearly ten years, then refused to accommodate her request any longer and unlawfully fired her. Federal law is clear. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against an employee based on religious beliefs and practices. Federal law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs. So, what exactly is religious discrimination in the workplace and how can an employer take practical steps to avoid committing it in their place of business? This post will discuss the federal law that prohibits religious discrimination, define religious discrimination, and address the employer’s responsibility to reasonably accommodate an employee’s request, as long as it does not create an undue hardship to the organization.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1963 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and applicants based on religion.¹ This law applies to all government employers at the federal, state, and local level, as well as private employers with at least 15 employees. In addition, Title VII requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of employees and applicants, unless doing so would cause the employer an undue hardship.

What is Religious Discrimination?

Under Title VII, “religion” is defined broadly. It can be a recognized and traditional religion like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. But religion can also include uncommon and new beliefs that are held by only a small number of people. If the belief is sincerely held, it doesn’t matter whether other people follow it or understand it. But according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the organization responsible for enforcing Title VII, a personal preference, or political, social, or economic philosophy does not qualify as a religious belief.

Religious discrimination in the workplace can look different depending on the situation. It includes any action made by an employer that impacts employees differently because of their religion, religious beliefs, or religious practices. This could involve hiring, firing, or any other term or condition of employment. This protection extends to individuals who have no religious beliefs or practices and receive disparate treatment due to that fact.

Religious discrimination can also occur when an employee is negatively impacted because he requested a reasonable accommodation for his religious beliefs.

Harassment and job segregation in the workplace due to an employee’s religious beliefs is another form of religious discrimination under Title VII.

Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship

Under Title VII, an employer has the responsibility of reasonably accommodating an employee’s request based on religious beliefs or practices, as long as it does not place an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable religious accommodation is any change in the workplace that will permit the employee to practice her religion. This could include allowing shift swaps, job reassignments, flexible scheduling, or exceptions to grooming or dress policies. An employer is not required to provide paid leave or break time for employees who request a religious accommodation.

Some more common religious accommodation requests include:

• An employee who seeks accommodation because of a religious belief that working on the Sabbath is prohibited;
• An employee who requests an exception to company dress policies due to religious practice, for example, a Muslim woman who wears a religious headscarf or a Jewish man who wears a yarmulke;
• An employee who asks for a shift change so she can attend a religious holiday service, for example, a Catholic employee who wishes to attend a Good Friday service;
• An atheist employee who wishes to be excused from prayer time at the beginning of staff meetings; or
• An employee who requests a special break schedule for religious practices, for example, a Muslim employee who asks to have time off for prayer throughout the day.

Title VII does not require an employer to accommodate an employee when doing so would cause an undue hardship to the employer. An undue hardship could be something that is costly to the business, compromises safety in the workplace, negatively effects efficiency, unfairly impacts the rights of other employees, or results in other employees having to carry a larger share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work. Whether a specific accommodation would cause an undue hardship on the employer depends on the individual circumstances of each request.

Conclusion

Religious discrimination in the workplace is a clear violation of federal law—it’s just not always so clear when it has happened. To avoid legal liability, an employer should always treat all employees fairly, and reasonably accommodate requests based on religious beliefs or practices. If uncertain how to address a specific situation, the employer should consult legal counsel to ensure actions are in compliance with federal law.

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Featured Image by Rebecca Sidebotham.

¹ 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e.