Religious Accommodation
Employers’ efforts to accommodate employees’ religious practices are known as religious accommodation. The legitimate necessity for religious accommodation in the working environment is established in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which disallows businesses from victimizing employees based on religion and expects them to oblige workers’ religious practices and beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Religious accommodations can take a variety of forms, including allowing an employee to observe a religious holiday on their own time, allowing them to wear religious headgear or clothing, or providing them with a quiet space to pray or meditate.
In order to determine whether or not accommodations are required, employers must engage in an interactive process with employees. Employees are responsible for informing their employer of their religious requirements, and employers cannot assume that they know what accommodations an employee requires. Additionally, employers must ensure that employees are not subjected to religious-based harassment or a hostile work environment.
Managers who neglect to give sensible facilities to their employees’ religious beliefs or practices can confront legitimate activity, including segregation claims and correctional harms. It is important for employers to have clear policies and procedures in place for religious accommodation requests and to ensure that managers and supervisors are trained on how to handle such requests appropriately.