Facts About Religious Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of l964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals
because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of
employment. The Act also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the
religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so
would create an undue hardship upon the employer (see also 29 CFR l605).
Flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and
lateral transfers are examples of accommodating an employee's religious beliefs.
Section 703(a)(1) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title
VII, 78 Stat. 255, 42
U.S.C. s 2000e-2(a)(1), makes it an unlawful employment practice
for an employer to discriminate against an employee or a prospective employee on
the basis of his or her religion. A guideline of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 29
CFR s 1605.1(b) (1968), required, as the Act itself now does, 42
U.S.C. s 2000e(j) (1970 ed., Supp. V), that an employer, short of
"undue hardship," make "reasonable accommodations" to the religious
needs of its employees.
Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison 432 U.S. 63, *66, 97 S.Ct.
2264, **2268 (U.S., 1977)
Employers cannot schedule examinations or other selection activities in
conflict with a current or prospective employee's religious needs, inquire about
an applicant's future availability at certain times, maintain a restrictive
dress code, or refuse to allow observance of a Sabbath or religious holiday,
unless the employer can prove that not doing so would cause an undue hardship.
An employer can claim undue hardship when accommodating an employee's
religious practices if allowing such practices requires more than ordinary
administrative costs. Undue hardship also may be shown if changing a bona fide
seniority system to accommodate one employee's religious practices denies
another employee the job or shift preference guaranteed by the seniority system.
An employee whose religious practices prohibit payment of union dues to a
labor organization cannot be required to pay the dues, but may pay an equal sum
to a charitable organization.
Mandatory "new age" training programs, designed to improve employee
motivation, cooperation or productivity through meditation, yoga, biofeedback or
other practices, may conflict with the non-discriminatory provisions of Title
VII. Employers must accommodate any employee who gives notice that these
programs are inconsistent with the employee's religious beliefs, whether or not
the employer believes there is a religious basis for the employee's objection.
See also: How To File A
Charge of Employment Discrimination
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