With the steady flow of news putting religious issues in the spotlight, it’s a good time to review the requirements regarding religion in the workplace.
Religion and Private Employers
Although the U.S. Constitution prohibits governments from interfering with the free exercise of religion, it doesn’t dictate how a private employer must deal with religion. Given that most of the media’s stories about religion cover government action regarding school prayer or the posting of religious symbols on government property, they have little relevancy to religious issues in a private workplace.
But while private employers need not be concerned about constitutional requirements governing religion in the workplace, you must be mindful of statutory prohibitions on discrimination against employees based on religion and the requirement that you reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs so long as doing so will not cause an undue burden.
That may seem no different from similar rules on race, gender, and other protected categories, but the vast array of religious beliefs and practices can make compliance with the rules on religion particularly challenging. Indeed, while modern society has broader views of what constitutes race and even gender, the characteristics associated with race and gender are still mostly immutable ― and certainly easier to ascertain than the characteristics associated with sincerely held religious beliefs.
A “religion” can be one of the large traditional belief systems such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, a belief system held by just a few people, or even a belief system that would be considered unusual or ridiculous by most people. However, a “religion” must involve a belief system that seeks to answer such questions as the meaning of life, the nature of death, and a person’s place in the universe. Political, social, and philosophical beliefs, even if they’re very strongly held, do not constitute a “religion.” And a personal preference such as the desire to attend worship services at a particular time isn’t a religious belief even if it’s connected to religious beliefs.
Religious practices are too numerous to describe in detail, but they generally include attendance at worship services, clothing requirements, dietary restrictions, Sabbath obligations, and prayer rituals. Typical accommodations include allowing employees to trade shifts to attend worship services or observe the Sabbath, wear a particular item ofclothing, or use an empty room for prayer.
Employment Decisions and Accommodations
As with other protected categories, employers may not make employment decisions based on employees’ religion or religious practices. For example, you may not refuse to hire or promote a qualified person because of her religion, favor one employee over another based on religion, or require a person to comply with a religious practice as a condition of employment. You also may not treat similarly situated employees differently based on religion ― for example, by allowing one desk clerk to have a Bible on his desk but precluding another from having a Koran on his desk. Finally, you may not permitan employee to be harassed because of her religion or religious beliefs.
Employers may require evidence confirming employees’ claimed beliefs. No particular type of evidence is required, however, meaning you may not insist on seeing a published dogma or receiving verification from a minister. And the request itself may not be discriminatory, such as only seeking confirmation of the sincerity of non-Christian beliefs.
If an employee has a sincerely held religious belief that conflicts with a work rule or requirement, you must accommodate his belief so long as doing so will not create an undue hardship for the company. In the context of religion, an accommodation creates an “undue” hardship if it will cause more than a de minimis (minimal) cost or burden to the employer, which is a far lower standard than required for reasonable accommodation in other situations.
What constitutes a “reasonable accommodation” will depend on the particular facts of each situation, such as the employee’s work location and duties, the number of employees who will be affected by the accommodation, and, of course, the cost of the accommodation. Generally, however, an accommodation is unreasonable if it creates a safety or security risk or infringes on the rights of other employees.
Bottom Line
If an employee requests an accommodation based on religion, don’t dismiss it out of hand, no matter how strange it may seem. Instead, engage in a dialogue with the employee to confirm the belief and determine if there is a way to accommodate it that will cost the company nothing (or very little) and won’t impinge on the rights of other employees. Be consistent in how you respond to requests for religious accommodation or claims of religious discrimination or harassment. And, as always, make sure your policies state that you don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment, train your managers to be sensitive to issues involving religion, and put a stop to any jokes, banter, or other conduct that denigrates someone’s religion or religious beliefs.
Keith Moorman is an attorney with Frost Brown Todd PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky. He has represented numerous clients in cases filed in the state and federal courts of Kentucky, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and has tried cases in Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. You may contact him at www.frostbrowntodd.com/professionals-keith_moorman.html?email-this-page