They would never ask someone, ‘Do you have to wear that cross around your neck?’ Being aware that disparate treatment itself is discrimination is something a lot of companies haven’t caught up with today,” van Bever says. In van Bever’s Leadership and Corporate Accountability course, discussions are heated. Title VII also prohibits workplace or job segregation based on religion (including religious garb and grooming practices), such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or feared customer preference. The gay couple felt offended to be seen as sinful. Let's look at some examples of religious discrimination in the workplace and what protections are available. In the second situation in van Bever’s case, Jack Phillips, founder of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, told Charlie Craig and David Mullins he would not make a cake for their same-sex wedding reception because it would communicate a message that contradicted his Christian convictions. What is a “religion”? The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. “This isn’t about a cake,” Craig said in a statement before the Supreme Court hearing. This article discusses the issues related to religion in the workplace, a topic that has received considerable attention in the media recently. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The law also prohibits job segregation based on religion, such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or feared customer preference. That style dictated how salespeople, known as “sales models,” styled their hair, the look of their fingernails, their body type, and the sandals they wore. Harassment includes creating or maintaining a hostile work environment against religion. For now, the lack of clarity is likely to leave many business leaders confused. According to this Act, employers may not hire, fire, or segregate employees based on religious belief. 180 days to file a charge(may be extended by state laws), Federal employees have 45 days to contact an EEO Counselor, 131 M Street, NE Religious discrimination in the workplace can take many forms and be present in every phase of the employment cycle. 3. As a result, religious conflict in the American workplace is up. Once the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, Justice Antonin Scalia said, “This is really easy.” He announced the court was siding with Elauf 8 to 1, ruling that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s illegal to “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”. It can happen when advertising a job, holding a company event, or even after an employee has left. Religious discrimination in the workplace is any employment-related action that impacts employees differently because of their religion or beliefs practices. Religious Discrimination in the Workplace It is illegal for employers to discriminate based on an individual's religious customs. Dan Bailey And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, The Purpose Of The IBC/WEF Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics Initiative: A Conversation With Brian Moynihan, “You want to make sure your organization has policies in place and they are being communicated so people on the front line don’t have to decide how to work through these issues and make things up in the moment.”, “You want to make sure your organization has policies in place and they are being communicated so people on the front line don’t have to decide how to work through these issues and make things up in the moment.”. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. “The court punted,” van Bever says. Employers also may not discriminate based on an employee’s lack of religious belief: In other words, a religious And it seems like the workplace climate may be getting worse: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) considered 3,721 religious discrimination complaints in 2013, up … This applies not only to schedule changes or leave for religious observances, but also to such things as dress or grooming practices that an employee has for religious reasons. Not only must employers not treat workers differently based on … Learn about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employees rights, filing an EEOC complaint, and much more. How to handle religion in the workplace is a contentious and litigious issue that many business leaders struggle with. Frequently Asked Questions, Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations, Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No Fear Act, Management Directives & Federal Sector Guidance, Federal Sector Alternative Dispute Resolution, https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EEOC-2020-0007-0001, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities, Fact Sheet on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities, Employment Discrimination Based on Religion, Ethnicity, or Country of Origin, Questions and Answers for Employees: Responsibilities Concerning the Employment of Individuals Who Are, or Are Perceived to Be, Muslim or Middle Eastern, Questions and Answers for Employers: Responsibilities Concerning the Employment of Individuals Who Are, or Are Perceived to Be, Muslim or Middle Eastern. Religious Discrimination in the Workplace. Almost 100 organizations filed amicus briefs with the court, weighing in on one side of the issue or the other. info@eeoc.gov 53 See further the discussion in L Vickers, Religious Freedom, Religious Discrimination and the Workplace, ch 3. Religious discrimination is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of l964. For example, if an applicant is not offered a retail job because their faith doesn’t permit them to work on Saturdays. Presidents later added sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity to the list of protected traits. The subject is so third-rail hot that even Harvard Business School has devoted relatively few courses and case studies to it. All over the world, religious intolerance is one of the leading causes of conflict and misunderstanding. “But we talk to students about how a leader’s job is fundamentally to make decisions in the gray. 1. For example, requiring employees to attend religious services (or prohibiting them from attending religious services). This view exists despite established Supreme Court prec-edent to the contrary. “You can’t do as Abercrombie did and just say, ‘no caps.’”, Baker’s religious beliefs conflict with gay couple’s request. What is a Hostile Work Environment? “You want to make sure your organization has policies in place and they are being communicated so people on the front line don’t have to decide how to work through these issues and make things up in the moment.”, Muslim headscarf meets retailer’s dress code. When an employee or applicant needs a dress or grooming accommodation for religious reasons, he should notify the employer that he needs such an accommodation for religious reasons. The federal government protects against discrimination based on religion, along with race, sex, age, and disability. This law prohibits government from encouraging or promoting religion in any way. The ruling should spur business leaders to reflect on whether their own branding practices might discriminate against certain workers, van Bever says. Unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer's operation of its business, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices. Find your nearest EEOC office The Muslim woman felt she was being attacked. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA. Discrimination can conspire directly or indirectly. Phillips, who had previously turned away requests for cakes to celebrate Halloween, lewd bachelor parties, and divorce parties, suggested the couple buy one of his premade cakes instead. Ruling in December 2017, the justices sidestepped that broader issue by ruling 7-2 in Phillips’ favor on a narrower point, saying the Colorado commission’s decision should be overturned because the group had shown inappropriate hostility toward Phillips’s religious views. 3. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). “It isn’t about weddings—it has never been about weddings. Religious Discrimination in Employment A collection of articles and resources on religious discrimination in the workplace. Can owners of small, private companies reject customers based on religious convictions? The Colorado Civil Rights Commission joined the lawsuit. “Companies need to check their posture. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on religion and requires employers to accommodate religious beliefs. To fill that need, van Bever wrote the case study Managing Religion in the Workplace, using two high-profile cases of religious discrimination … Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. An employer does not have to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs. Under the direction of CEO Michael Jeffries, the company held onto a hint of its hallmark safari style while putting a greater emphasis on casual clothes and ballooned to more than 1,000 stores worldwide, with revenues exceeding $3.5 billion by 2008. If the employer reasonably needs more information, the employer and the employee should engage in an interactive process to discuss the request. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Written policies should be careful to respect a range of religious expressions. It also includes an employee's observance of a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments (such as pants or miniskirts). To fill that need, van Bever wrote the case study Managing Religion in the Workplace, using two high-profile cases of religious discrimination that were argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years: one about a young Muslim woman who battled Abercrombie & Fitch for rejecting her job application because she wore a hijab for religious reasons; and the second about a baker whose religious beliefs compelled him to refuse to design a cake for a gay couple’s wedding reception. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. The Colorado EEOC ruled in favor of the couple, and the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld that ruling. We all desire fair and equal treatment, and that’s why we’re here today.”, The Supreme Court justices asked a lot of questions, like: Would wedding invitations, floral arrangements, or catered meals also be considered “speech”? The primary purpose of this article, therefore, is to discuss the possible causes of religious discrimination between different religions in the whole world. In some ways, Abercrombie did what companies do every day—they turn people down because they’re not the right fit,” van Bever says. An accommodation may cause undue hardship if it is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work. Examples of some common religious accommodations include flexible scheduling, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and modifications to workplace policies or practices. “But you also have to keep people’s feelings in mind. “You have to prove to the court that you heard the employee out, and you made an offer of reasonable accommodation,” van Bever says. Tolerance is the law of the land, and employers have an obligation not only to treat all religions equally, but Continue Reading “But employers need to understand that where that runs into trouble is when their business prerogative conflicts with a person’s fundamental religious rights.”. When Phillips appealed, the U.S. Supreme Court took the case. Shirtless, tan men known as “lifeguards” were placed conspicuously near store entrances because “good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people,” Jeffries said in a 2006 Salon interview. To fill that need, van Bever wrote the case study Managing Religion in the Workplace, using two high-profile cases of religious discrimination that were argued before the US Supreme Court in recent years: one about a young Muslim woman who battled Abercrombie & Fitch for rejecting her job application because she wore a hijab for religious reasons; and the second about a baker whose … Harvard Business School Working Knowledge looks at the latest research and ideas from the faculty of Harvard Business School. An overview of significant cases of dispute between employers and employees is provided, as well as examples of social partners’ initiatives to accommodate the needs of religious people in the workplace. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission joined Elauf in a complaint against the company, and they prevailed in the first court hearing, but Abercrombie won on appeal, with the court saying that Elauf should have spoken up about her need for an accommodation that conflicted with the store’s policies. Most employers may not discriminate based on religion, must reasonably accommodate religious beliefs and practices, and must protect other employees against the unwelcome religious behaviors of their co-workers or managers. An employee cannot be forced to participate (or not participate) in a religious activity as a condition of employment. As outlined in Title VII, there are numerous types of discrimination that employers and employees need to know: 1. It all could get yanked out from under you.”. Justice Neil Gorsuch summed up the difficulty in balancing the First Amendment’s free speech clause against nondiscrimination laws by asking counsel the simple question, “How would you have this court draw the line?”. 2. For example, should companies change their dress codes and even their brand identities to accommodate religious garb? Businesses are required to make reasonable accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs, as long as doing so doesn't have excessive negative consequences for the employer. The courts have found that companies don’t have to agree to all religion-related requests from employees, but they do have to make an attempt at a reasonable accommodation. Job advertisements, harassment by employees and dress codes are all risk areas that employers need to monitor to prevent allegations of religious discrimination arising. Which federal law covers religious discrimination? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – the agency that administers federal discrimination laws – reported that only 3,721 of the 93,727 charges of workplace discrimination filed for 2013 alleged claims of religious discrimination. The rules about Harassment don’t apply outside the workplace. Religious Discrimination and Segregation Title VII also prohibits workplace or job segregation based on religion (including religious garb and grooming practices), such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or feared customer preference. An official website of the United States government. Both incidents arose from rather routine work situations that many businesses face, but when religious beliefs clashed with business principles, hurt feelings led to legal battles that dragged on for years. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits, among other things, religious discrimination in any facet of employment. “… This was shocking to me.”. The two cases have raised questions for business owners and managers to contemplate. In terms of litigation, “religion is growing faster than sex and race.” See also Bagni, B, ‘ Discrimination in the name of the lord: a critical evaluation of discrimination by religious organisations ’ (1979) 79 Colum LR 1514. It is illegal to harass a person because of his or her religion.Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person's religious beliefs or practices. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site. Religious discrimination is now a major challenge to many individuals and … The United States was founded, in part, on the basis of religious freedom, so it is no wonder that both the federal government and the state of New Jersey have imposed such strict rules barring religious discrimination and workplace harassment. “In both of these cases, people felt offended. In 2008, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf felt confident she had nailed her interview for a salesperson position at an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Oklahoma, especially after a manager told her she’d receive a call in a few days about orientation. If an employee can’t work on the Sabbath, the employer should see if someone else could cover that day. As long as an employee's religious practices do not genuinely interfere with the performance of his or her duties, the employer cannot base hiring, firing, promotion, or compensation decisions based on that employee's religion. The law requires an employer or other covered entity to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the operations of the employer's business. If you imagine that you’ll be able to behave with brusque disregard for people and continue to grow as a company—guess what? After all, the number of religious discrimination complaints has increased by more than 50% in the past 15 years, and settlement amounts have more than doubled, according to data collected by the U.S. F… “Our students have been asking for it because they see very clearly that they will be in positions of global leadership where they will have to deal with it.”. 1-800-669-6820 (TTY) 8 min read. “No one had ever told me that I could not wear a headscarf and sell clothing,” Elauf is quoted as saying in a 2015 New York Times story. How to spot religious discrimination in the workplace Discrimination on the ground of religion presents at all stages of the employment relationship from recruitment to retirement. Religious discrimination includes unequal treatment because of religion, neutral rules which have an adverse effect on those with religious beliefs, and harassment based on religion. Religious discrimination can manifest in many ways throughout the workplace. Take the case of auto parts retailer AutoZone, which agreed to pay $75,000 for telling an employee he couldn’t wear a turban to work after converting to Sikhism. “But this will continue to come up, so, at some point, they’re going to have to make a call.”. “It’s the fastest growth area in discrimination,” says Robert E. Gregg, an attorney with Boardman & Clark in Madison, Wis. “Religion and business is considered one of the last taboos,” says Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever. Laws Protecting Citizens From Religious Discrimination Let's start with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. If employers make sure people feel respected, van Bever says, that might prevent a situation from escalating to becoming the distraction, financial expense, and reputation risk that both of these cases devolved into. 2. These might include, for example, wearing particular head coverings or other religious dress (such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf), or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair (such as Rastafarian dreadlocks or Sikh uncut hair and beard). Reviews Count – Give Your Customers Something To Talk About! This means an employer may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow an employee to practice his or her religion. “I assume a lot of companies would be sympathetic to Abercrombie because they want to be clear from a brand perspective about the profile they’re putting forward in terms of whom they hire,” van Bever says. Phillips claimed a First Amendment right to free expression, saying he considered himself more of a cake artist than a baker. Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. Yet, some organizations can openly and legally engage in religious discrimination. News about Religion and Belief, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. The law spells out some rules of the road for business leaders to follow: Companies can’t discriminate against protected classes, and they have to provide reasonable accommodations for people’s religions. But a subtler lesson can also be learned from both cases. Religious discrimination claims make up a fraction of the workplace discrimination claims filed in the US each year. Washington, DC 20507 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion (or lack of religious belief) in hiring, firing, or any other terms and conditions of employment. Discrimination in the workplace covers any work related issues, and it is important for employers to take care that the company handbook, policies, and practices are uniform, regardless of employee race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, or disability. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person's religious beliefs or practices. Indirect discriminationif a company-wide rule conflicts with a specific religious practice. You may opt-out by. Employees and applicants are protected from discrimination based on their religious beliefs and practices. 202-663-4900 / (TTY) 202-663-4494, Call 1-800-669-4000 “My guess is that most companies don’t have a written policy that articulates how to handle religion in the workplace in a way that’s instructive for management,” says van Bever, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. 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