Under the First Amendment, Americans enjoy two liberty concerning religion: the right to be free from a government-imposed faith, and also a right to practice any faith. While private employers aren't bound by the Constitution's limitations on government, they are subject to state and federal laws that prohibit religious discrimination in employment. Given the number of employed persons and the range of religious faiths in this country and the freedom we like to express our views, the topic of religious discrimination continues to pose tough questions for companies and the courts.
Due to our nation's great diversity, companies may hire workers from a terrific selection of countries and spiritual backgrounds. In an ideal work environment, the spiritual beliefs of a certain worker, or of the employer, don't create conflicts. Either is free to think as he or she selects and, provided that the job gets completed satisfactorily, neither will experience difficulty on the basis of faith. Yet, in real life, a variety of problems can appear to create friction. An employer and employee may talk, or even argue over, spiritual principles. What's more, faith isn't only a matter of belief. The faithful practice their faith through various actions -- fashions of dress, a way of maintaining or sporting one's hair, trying to recruit others to their religion, after particular diets, praying, fasting, avoiding certain language or behavior, and observing certain religious holidays. Quite simply, the many features of different religions give ample ground for debate, conflict, as well as harassment among employers and workers.
The First Amendment establishes certain boundaries concerning government establishment of religion and the person 's right to free exercise of a chosen faith. In the private sector, the subject of religion is regulated by federal and state civil rights legislation. Title VII prohibits private employers from discriminating on several bases, including race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. The courts have recognized various types of illegal discrimination, such as disparate treatment, disparate impact, and a hostile environment.
Disparate Treatment Discrimination
Disparate treatment is an overt form of discrimination, involving unequal treatment on the grounds of a worker 's religion. An employer with a policy of refusing to hire or to market (or just hiring and encouraging ) members of a specific faith would perpetrate this form of discrimination. Some companies whose business purpose is spiritual in nature may be allowed to require certain employees to adhere to a specific faith. Courts will look carefully, however, at the validity of the company 's requirement for the position.
Disparate Impact Discrimination
A more subtle form of discrimination arises through disparate effect. An employer discriminating in this way has no state policy for treating one or more religious groups unequally. Instead, a policy which makes no mention of a specific faith still functions to discriminate by changing only certain religious groups. By way of instance, a rule which discourages men from wearing any sort of hat or other clothes on their minds during the company day may struggle with the dress rules of a specific religion that needs headwear to be worn in public.
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The first step in deciding whether a worker has a claim for religious discrimination would be to identify the sort of discrimination itself. Normal forms of discrimination from the workplace include taking any of the following activities based solely on a worker 's faith:
* Implementing or terminating employees
Courts balance the reasonableness of the company 's activities versus the hardship brought on by complying with the workers ' religious practices.
The first question a court must ask is whether the employer acted fairly. By way of example, a court found that a firm acted unreasonably when it refused to allow a Muslim worker to wear a headscarf during the holy month of Ramadan. Implementing the second question, the court couldn't locate any undue hardship on the business in permitting the worker to wear a headscarf. Other practices that courts have discovered unreasonable are a failure to provide time off for religious observances and refusing to offer time and/or a place to pray.
On the flip side, however, several courts have held it is reasonable for companies to preclude spiritual objects being displayed in employee cubicles. The bottom line is that companies are only required to reasonably accommodate employees' spiritual practices, not to do anything the worker wants. A common example of this is when an employer agrees to offer you a day off for religious observance, but neglects to compensate you for it.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides advice for"religious garb and grooming" at the office.
Ultimately, when you've determined that you were actually discriminated against on the basis of your religious beliefs (either perceived or real ), you should consider filing a charge with the EEOC. Generally, you must file your charge within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act (and national workers must file charges within their own agency). After a charge is filed, the employer is advised of this action; the EEOC investigates the charge to ascertain whether or not a claim against the employer ought to be registered, and the two parties (the employee filing the fee and the employer) have the chance to settle the fee at any time.
If the agency determines that there are adequate grounds for a religious discrimination claim, it is going to suggest mediation or file a claim against the employer in federal court. You may file a discrimination claim in civil court only if the EEOC has provided you with "right to sue" notice(where you have 90 days following the date of this notice).
Get Legal Help With Your Religious Discrimination at the Workplace Charge
If you think that you were treated unfairly in the workplace on the basis of your religious beliefs, you might have the ability to file a discrimination charge with the EEOC, which will investigate your bill and sue the employer or provide you the choice of doing this. These cases can be very intricate and typically benefit from the advice and counsel of a skilled Riverside wrongful termination attorney.
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