(Updated August 2009)
by Sarah Fuson
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, thoughts turn to turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. But Thanksgiving represents more than stuffing ourselves silly and watching football all day. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims, a group of Puritans who fled England because of religious persecution. While a lot has changed since 1621, religion remains a controversial and hotly debated topic throughout America, which begs the question: How does an employer handle religion in the workplace?
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Reasonable accommodations under Title VII
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee based on his religion. That means an employer can’t refuse to hire, fire, or otherwise discipline an employee based on his religious beliefs. You also must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practices so long as the accommodation doesn’t impose an undue hardship on the employer.
A reasonable accommodation is a change in an employer’s rule that lets the employee engage in a religious practice. If an employee approaches his employer with a request for a reasonable accommodation, it must work with him to create one unless the employer can show that the accommodation creates an undue hardship. You can show undue hardship by proving that the accommodation would cost more than ordinary administrative costs.
An example of a reasonable accommodation could include time off for an employee who requests a day off to observe a religious holiday. Other examples of reasonable accommodations could include allowing a worker to wear religiously mandated clothing (such as turbans or yarmulkes), allowing him to use a particular space in the workplace for prayer, or being flexible with break schedules so that employees can engage in prayer.
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How’s an employer to know?
Claims of religious discrimination are on the rise in the workplace. In 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 3,273 religion-based discrimination charges. In 1992, the agency received only 1,388 religion-based charges. That means it’s crucial for employers to know how to identify and handle a situation in which they should consider reasonable accommodations.
Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether you should allow an accommodation. First, will it interfere with the company’s business or productivity? Second, will it cost you more than a minimal amount? Third, will other employees be disadvantaged by the accommodation? If you answer “yes” to any of those questions, the accommodation may not be reasonable.
Employers must be able to back up a decision not to accommodate with evidence. For example, an employer that claims an accommodation will cause it to incur a substantial cost must be able to prove that claim with documentation.
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Company-sponsored spiritual events
While employers have a right to sponsor spiritual events, employees can’t be forced to attend them. Spiritual events could include motivational speakers, holiday programs, or “new age” training programs.
For example, a company can sponsor a yoga training program intended to improve employee cooperation and productivity. It shouldn’t, however, force an employee to attend the training program if he believes that attending would be against his religion.
Similarly, an employee can’t be disadvantaged because he refuses to attend a church service. You also shouldn’t reward employees who do attend company-sponsored spiritual events or church services. Employers must treat all employees equally whether or not they attend company-sponsored spiritual events.
In a similar vein, companies can’t require employees to read spiritual or religious books as a part of their employment. That’s not limited to the Bible or the Koran. An employer shouldn’t punish an employee for refusing to read a book if he does so because of his religion.
State-by-state comparison of 50 Employment Laws in 50 States, including religious discrimination and accommodations
Bottom line
Religion continues to be an important part of many American employees’ lives. Now more than ever, employees practice diverse religions. You must be able to identify and grant reasonable accommodation requests. You also must be able to identify and deny accommodation requests that will cause an undue hardship. Otherwise, there might be a knock at the door from the EEOC this Thanksgiving.
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