Workplace Religious Discrimination: What You Need To Know

Americans have always taken religious freedom very seriously: The first clause of the first amendment to our Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …”

As a result, neither the federal nor state governments can enact laws that establish an official religion or restrict the “free exercise” of your chosen faith—or lack of one. Courts have interpreted this to mean you also have the right to hold no religious beliefs if that’s your choice. This protection can even extend to a secular moral code, as long as it reflects deeply held beliefs on “ultimate ideas” about life, purpose, and death, and you have a record of adhering to it.

Laws to Fight Religious Discrimination At Work

Unfortunately, people in America still face discrimination based on their beliefs or lack thereof. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits any such religious discrimination in the workplace. If a prospective employer discriminates against you based on your religion, you can sue him or her. You can likewise sue if he or she religiously discriminates against you once you get the job. In addition, your employer must reasonably accommodate your religious practices. The law defines “reasonable accommodation” as that which does not impose an undue hardship on the employer.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the entity tasked with enforcing these and other workplace rules and prohibitions. Its statistics show that religious discrimination complaints and lawsuits have increased by 41% over the past 20 years. The amount that employers have been required to pay their employees against whom they practiced or allowed religious discrimination has increased by 174% over the same period.

Religious discrimination in the workplace tends to fall into three categories: employment practices, harassment, and failure to accommodate.

Employment Practices

Per Title VII, a private employer with 15 or more workers cannot religiously discriminate against someone in its hiring, firing, or promotion practices. Title VII also applies to employment agencies, labor unions and organizations, and joint labor/management committees that establish apprenticeship and training criteria. Many states have their workplace discrimination laws that also apply to employers with fewer than 15 workers.

Examples of prohibited employment practices include the following:

• Refusing to hire you because you belong to a certain religion
• Refusing to promote you for the same reason
• Requiring you to attend company events that go against your religious beliefs
• Firing you if you miss work to attend a religious service or observe a religious holiday
• Transferring you to another location so clients, customers, and others will not see you wearing your religious garb
• Refusing to give you a raise unless and until you stop discussing your religion with coworkers during your free time, such as while at lunch or on breaks

Under Title VII and state anti-discrimination laws, religious organizations—such as schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and charities—are allowed to hire only individuals who share their faith when the job involves work directly tied to the organization’s religious mission or activities.

On the other hand, such religious discrimination exclusions must not run afoul of other employment practice prohibitions. For instance, a Lutheran organization can hire only Lutherans if it so chooses. However, it cannot refuse to hire African American or LGBT Lutherans.

Religious Harassment in the Workplace

Your employer cannot allow coworkers, supervisors or anyone else, such as clients or customers, to harass you while at work. This includes such things as constantly telling religious-based jokes, making fun of you or denigrating you for wearing your religious garb, mocking your religious beliefs or lack thereof, attempting to change your religious beliefs, or, if you have none, attempting to instill their own religious beliefs in you.

Reasonable Accommodation

Your employer must reasonably accommodate your religious practices in the workplace, or it is considered discrimination. Examples of reasonable religious accommodations include the following:

• Not insisting that you work on Saturdays if you are a Jew, Seventh-Day Adventist, or belong to another religion whose weekly holy day is Saturday
• Switching your work schedule with coworkers to allow you time off to observe your religious holidays that they don’t observe
• Allowing you to wear your religious clothing in the workplace, such as your yarmulka, turban, or hijab
• Allowing you to wear your hair in dreadlocks if you are a man who practices the Rastafarian religion; or allowing you to have uncut hair and a beard if you are a man who practices the Sikh religion
• Allowing you to display your religious icons or other expressions of your religious beliefs in your workspace
• Not scheduling company events on days or at times that your employer knows conflicts with your religious practices

However, there are limits to the accommodation requirement. If a specific accommodation would cause an undue hardship for the company, they’re not obligated to provide it. Courts define undue hardship as situations involving excessive costs, safety risks, significant drops in efficiency, or an unfair increase in burdensome or hazardous work for other employees due to the accommodation.

When You May Need an Attorney for Workplace Religious Discrimination

Have you been the victim of workplace religious discrimination? Take your complaint to your supervisor or the proper human resources person as soon as possible after the discriminatory event. If you belong to a union, you can file a grievance. Either way, it’s possible that the situation can be resolved in-house.

However, if the discrimination continues and your employer does not curtail it, you may wish to consider contacting a local attorney experienced in workplace discrimination matters, especially those involving religious discrimination. Such an expert can assess your situation. If necessary, they’ll file a religious discrimination lawsuit against your employer on your behalf which could result in your obtaining considerable compensation.

Work With an Experienced Local Lawyer

Submit a request online today or call us at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced workplace religious discrimination lawyer in your area.

About the Author

Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.

With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. Contact Aaron at [email protected] for article suggestions, collaborations, or inquiries.