Religious Discrimination and Accommodation in the Workplace
What does the term Religious Discrimination refer to?
Religious discrimination involves treating an employee or an applicant unfavorably merely because of her or his religion. The religious laws in the State of California offer protection, not only to individuals who belong to traditional organized religions including Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism but also to others who have held religious, moral or ethical beliefs sincerely.
It is also important to note that discrimination related to religion may also involve treating a person differently because the individual is associated with or is married to a person of a particular religion.
Religious Discrimination in Work Conditions.
The law prohibits any form of discrimination in the hiring, pay, firing, promotions, layoff, job assignments, training, fringe benefits or any other form of employment condition regarding religious affiliations or beliefs. This implies that any business must not discriminate against a worker or those associated with another employee because of her/his religion.
Therefore every business must have a complaints policy that covers any form of religious harassment.
Examples of harassment may include:
Discouraging religious expression in the form of tattoos or even dreadlocks, that demonstrate offensive remarks regarding religious beliefs about an individual’s practices or beliefs, a particular dress, that is a sign of a religious belief.
Religious Accommodation/ Grooming and dress policy.
An employer must accommodate a worker’s religious practices and beliefs at all cost unless it would result in an undue hardship on the operation of the businesses of the company. This does not only apply to leave for religious purposes and scheduled changes alone, but grooming and dressing codes are also accommodated. For example, employers should promote the following: The wearing of certain head coverings or any other religious clothes including Muslim headscarf or a Jewish Yarmulke. The religious accommodation policy should also cover a worker’s observance of a religious prohibition against putting on certain garments, such as miniskirts and pants.
When an applicant or an employee is in need of grooming or a dress accommodation due to religious reasons, that particular employee should inform the employer that he/she needs such an accommodation. If in any case, the employer needs additional information regarding the issue, both the employer and the employee should take part in an interactive engagement so as to find a reliable solution to the request. If it is evident that it would not lead to undue hardship, the employer should issue or provide the accommodation.
Undue hardship, Reasonable accommodation in Religious Discrimination.
The law says that employers may not have to encourage the beliefs of employees or any practices by them if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employers. To be much more precise, accommodation is likely to result in undue hardship to the employer if it comprises workplace safety, infringes on the rights and privileges of the other workers, costly, reduces workplace productivity and efficiency, or if it requires employees to perform more than their share of potentially onerous or hazardous task.
Segregation and Religious discrimination.
Title VII prohibits workplace segregation based on religious beliefs and practices. And this includes religious garb and grooming habits, such assigning a worker to a contact position that is considered a non-customer, either due to feared or actual client preference.
Employment practices and Religious discrimination.
The law also says that as an employee, you should never be forced in any manner whatsoever, to take part in a particular religious activity, as an employment condition.
If you have been a religious discrimination victim in the workplace at any point in time, please contact and schedule an appointment with the religious discrimination layers near you, to help determine whether or not you have a case.
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