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| Governmental Regulations |
| Rising Ethnic Diversity: It prompts a review of religious discrimination prevention practices |
Edward Rangel, “a practicing Kemetic, whose ancient Egyptian religion dictates that he wear tattoos on his wrists similar to thin bracelets” was fired recently from his position at a Seattle restaurant. The corporation he works for has a dress code that prohibits visible tattoos.
Dismissing an employee for a violation of the dress code would seem to be a reasonable business decision, but because Rangel’s tattoos are part of his religious observance, firing him for refusing to cover them constitutes religious discrimination. Consequently, Rangel’s employer is currently embroiled in a federal suit filed by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
Because workplaces are becoming more and more diverse, business owners and managers need to be far more vigilant about providing workplace education with regard to religious discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of religion, including discrimination in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Some helpful case studies and scenarios from the EEOC website will help you begin to recognize potentially discriminatory practices. Visit http://www.eeoc.gov/types/religion.html. Meanwhile, make a brief mental review of your current business practices to see if your business is in compliance:
- As you are hiring employees, do you treat applicants less—or more—favorably based on their religious beliefs or practices?
- Verify that no employee is forced to participate—or not participate—in a religious activity as a condition of employment.
- Verify that company policy makes reasonable effort to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and practices. For example, an employer might allow flexible scheduling to accommodate a worker’s schedule for attending a religious service. Voluntary substitutions, job reassignments, lateral transfers, and modifying workplace practices are all examples of possible accommodations.
- Do you allow display of personal items, such as family photos, but prohibit display of religiously significant items such as a crucifix?
- Have you taken steps to prevent religious harassment of other employees?
When are you not required to make accommodations?
- Currently, the law does not apply to employers with fewer than 15 employees.
- An employer is not required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and practices if doing so would pose an undue hardship. The courts interpret “undue hardship” inconsistently, but some examples might include an accommodation that requires excessive administrative costs, impairs workplace safety, or imposes potentially hazardous or burdensome work on co-workers.
Source: “Red Robin Charged with Religious Discrimination.” Puget Sound Business Journal. http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2004/06/14/daily4.html
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