Religious Discrimination Religious discrimination can take many forms. If you have been denied work or a promotion, been harassed or denied an accommodation at work because of your religious beliefs or practices, or because of your lack of certain religious beliefs, you may have a claim. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) prohibit many employers from engaging in religious discrimination in the workplace. To find out more about what religious discrimination is and how you may be protected, read below:   1. What is religious discrimination? Religious discrimination, in the context of employment, is treating employees differently because of their religion, religious beliefs or practices, and/or their request for accommodation —a change in a workplace rule or policy— for their religious beliefs and practices. It also includes treating employees differently because of their lack of religious belief or practice. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional organized religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or other faiths; but all people who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. If you have been rejected for employment, fired, harassed, or otherwise harmed in your employment because of your religion, religious beliefs and practices, and/or your request for accommodation of your religious beliefs and practices, you may have suffered unlawful religious discrimination. Some workers experiencing religious discrimination may also experience other forms of illegal discrimination, such as national origin discrimination, immigration/citizenship status discrimination, and/or race discrimination. There are typically three main forms of religious discrimination in the workplace: (1) employment decisions based on religious preference (2) harassment based on religious preferences and, (3) failing to reasonably accommodate religious practices. Some examples of potentially unlawful religious discrimination are: Hiring / firing / promotion: This type of discrimination includes making employment decisions based upon someone’s faith, or lack thereof. This could be refusing to hire an employee because he or she is a Seventh-Day Adventist or Orthodox Jew and observes a Saturday Sabbath; firing an employee after he or she misses work to observe a religious holiday; promoting an employee only if she is willing to attend church regularly; transferring an employee to a position with less public contact because he is a Rastafarian who wears dreadlocks; not giving an employee a raise until he stops discussing religious beliefs with other employees during free time such as breaks or lunch. Harassment: Harassing individuals due to their religion can include making fun of employees or telling them they are violating the company’s dress code because they wear religious clothing such as yarmulkes, turbans, or hijabs (head scarves); repeatedly mocking a person because of his or her strong, Christian beliefs; ridiculing a Muslim employee for refusing pork at a company picnic; making efforts repeatedly to “save the soul” of a fellow employee who is an atheist. Failure to accommodate: Denial of religious accommodation is the most common form of workplace religious discrimination. This type of discrimination can include requiring an employee to work on his Sunday Sabbath, even though other employees are willing to trade shifts with him; forcing an employee to remove her hijab (scarf) to comply with the company’s dress code even though other employees wear baseball caps on the job; not allowing employees to display religious icons or other expressions of religious belief in their work spaces, although employees are allowed to display other types of personal items. According to a facts sheet provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the success rate of employment related religious discrimination cases has increased and the payout along with it. There have been many note-worthy cases in which the court found in favor of the employee. If any of these things have happened to you on the job, you may have suffered illegal religious discrimination. 2. What is considered a religion? Title VII defines “religion” to include all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief. The religion does not have to be a traditional, organized religion such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Religious beliefs can include unique views held by a few or even one individual; however, mere personal preferences are not religious beliefs and beliefs are not protected merely because they are strongly held. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has determined religion typically concerns “ultimate ideas” about “life, purpose, and death.” Social, political, or economic philosophies, as well as mere personal preferences, are not “religious” beliefs protected by Title VII. 3. Which federal law covers religious discrimination? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on religion. Title VII makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment, such as promotions, raises, and other job opportunities. Title VII also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would be an “undue hardship” on the employer. Flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and transfers within the company and the same salary range are examples of ways of accommodating an employee’s religious beliefs. Put simply, this means that employers cannot treat employees more or less favorably due to their religion, and employees cannot be required to participate in, or refrain from participating in, a religious activity as a condition of employment. Beyond this, employers must also take steps to prevent religious discrimination from other employees. Finally, employers may not retaliate against employees for asserting their rights under Title VII to file a discrimination claim, discuss salary with other employees, or serve as a witness in someone else’s discrimination case. In addition to the federal law, most states also have laws that make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of religion. See the state law question on this page for more information. 4. What is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA? Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993. Under the RFRA, the Federal government cannot pass … Continue reading Religious Discrimination