Q: If an employee asks for time off based on her religious beliefs, can I legally question her about her religion (e.g., what her religion is and why she needs time off)?
A: Yes, you may question an employee about her religious beliefs if you have an objective basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of the belief or practice. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs unless the accommodation would cause an undue hardship on business operations.
When the employee’s request doesn’t provide enough information to enable you to determine if you can accommodate it or if you have a bona fide doubt about the basis for it, you are entitled to make a limited inquiry into her request. That is, you can gather enough information to determine whether the belief is actually religious, whether it is sincerely held, or whether the belief or practice leads to the need for the requested accommodation. Be aware, though, that if you unreasonably request unnecessary or excessive corroborating evidence, you may be held liable for denying a reasonable accommodation or for retaliation or harassment based on the employee’s religion.
You might think about adopting flexible leave and scheduling policies so that individual employees have less need to make requests for accommodation. For example, “floating” holidays, personal days, or voluntary schedule swaps could go a long way in preventing employees from having to make individual requests for time off for religious purposes.
Mark G. Jeffries is an associate with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in the firm’s Bridgeport, West Virginia, office. He can be reached at (304) 933-8155 or mark.jeffries@steptoe-johnson.com.