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Introduction
Religious accommodation refers to any changes at the workplace to enable employees to practice their religion without minimal interference from the employer. Accommodation needs often encompass religious expressions at work, grooming and dress, and adjustments to work schedules (U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d.). Whereas religious accommodation exists under the law, the employer needs to determine the reasonability of the integration request to allow employees to observe their religion at the workplace.
How Employer Determines What is Reasonable and Not Reasonable
To determine the reasonability of the religious accommodation request, the employer assesses the specific submission to establish if it will not cause undue hardship to the organization. The employer is mandated by the law to make accommodations to facilitate individuals to practice their religious beliefs at the workplace. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws businesses and institutions from discriminating against employees based on their religious practices (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). The act also requires organizations to reasonably integrate the religious practices or beliefs of workers unless implementing such would create an undue hardship to the institution. However, in determining what is reasonable, the employer is confined to recognizing religion as the customary, organized faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The act also permits the employer to encompass religious practices that are uncommon, new, or only practiced by a few people. Under the act, the employer is permitted to accommodate religion as a practice if the staff’s reason for the belief is religious. However, political, social, personal preferences or economic philosophies are not religious practices as enshrined under Title VII of the ratified Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The employer can also determine a religious accommodation request as not reasonable if the submission will lead to undue adversity for the company. An institution may justify denial of an accommodation request when such a submission is expensive to implement, compromises the safety of the work environment, lowers workplace efficiency, and violates the privileges of other staff. Moreover, the religious accommodation request may also be not reasonable if it results in other workers performing more onerous work. The employer may also view the accommodation submission as not reasonable if it breaches the terms and conditions of the job rights or collective bargaining agreement created through a seniority structure. However, the company is also obliged to demonstrate that the undue hardship is genuine rather than speculative.
What or Who Determines What Is Reasonable
Yes, employers should implement accommodations to allow people to observe their religious practices at work. The employer determines religious accommodation as reasonable if the request meets the threshold outlined in the law and such submission creates no undue suffering to the company in terms of implementation cost, safety at the workplace, and work efficiency. The employee requires to notify the employer of the need for religious accommodation following a conflict of faith and work duties (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). Religious accommodation may encompass scheduling changes, voluntary shift swaps, wearing head coverings or garments, job reassignments, etc. Once the accommodation requests are lodged, the employer assesses the requests to establish the reasonability and any undue hardship they may trigger to the organization.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the need for religious accommodation often occurs when a person’s religious practices, observances, or beliefs conflict with the documented task that an employee should accomplish in the organization. However, the organization should determine the reasonability of the integration request to permit employees to practice their religion at the workplace. The employer defines religious incorporation as rational if the application meets the threshold established in the law and such submission produces no unwarranted suffering to the business in terms of operation cost, security at the workplace, and work productivity.
References
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Religious discrimination and accommodation in the federal workplace. Web.
U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Disability and religious accommodations. Web.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). What you should know: Workplace religious accommodation. Web.
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