EEOC statistics suggest that there is a growing wave of discrimination complaints brought by Muslim workers. Read on to find out what the law requires of you, and how to avoid getting hit with a costly lawsuit.
The Laws Against Religious Discrimination
Title VII, the federal antibias law, prohibits discrimination based on religion and requires employers to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs or practices of employees unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.
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California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) similarly prohibits religious discrimination and harassment based on an employee’s “religious creed.” Religious creed is defined as any traditionally recognized religion as well as an employee’s beliefs, observances, or practices that are sincere and that have a place of importance in his or her life similar to that of a traditional belief.
Muslim Claims of Discrimination
The EEOC reports that the number of complaints of unlawful employment discrimination received from Muslim employees has more than doubled in a five-year period, from 697 in fiscal year 2004 to 1,490 in fiscal year 2009. The 2009 complaints resulted in 803 formal charges, almost 25 percent of the total federal religious discrimination charges for the year.
This past September, the EEOC brought a lawsuit alleging religious discrimination under Title VII against Abercrombie & Fitch on behalf of an 18-year-old Muslim job applicant. The woman applied for a job stocking merchandise at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Silicon Valley city of Milpitas. She wore a head covering known as a hijab to her interview, and the interviewer noted she was “not Abercrombie look” on the interview form.
Similarly, in August, a restaurant hostess at a Disneyland hotel in Anaheim filed a complaint with the EEOC claiming Disney wouldn’t allow her to wear her hijab on the job during Ramadan. (Disney later allowed another Muslim worker to wear her hijab as part of a customized uniform.)
Suggested Accommodations for Religious Beliefs
As Disneyland demonstrated in the latter instance, employers can often work with their employees to devise accommodations that satisfy both parties. For example, reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious beliefs or creed might include the following:
- having other employees substitute for the employee by working his or her shift or hours
- relieving the employee from performing specified duties that conflict with his or her religious beliefs
- granting the employee time off, including any reasonable time necessary for travel, for his or her religious observance
- hiring another employee to perform specific duties in place of the employee
- transferring the employee to another position, job classification, or job site/location
- modifying workplace practices, policies, or rules, including dress or grooming standards
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An Important Reminder
It’s important to remember that a fear—even a well-grounded one—that customers or co-workers will find an employee’s religious dress or expression objectionable will never justify employment discrimination based on religion.
Since 9/11, the EEOC has advised employers to be particularly sensitive to potential discrimination against or harassment of individuals who are—or are perceived to be—Muslim, Arab, Afghan, Middle Eastern, or South Asian. Remind employees that it’s unlawful to discriminate against these individuals and others based on affiliation with a religious group, physical or cultural traits and clothing, or associations with others.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the definition of “undue hardship.” We’ll also explain a brand-new resource you can turn to when wrestling with sensitive compliance questions like this.