Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is pretty clear on its prohibition of discrimination based on religion. But identifying religious discrimination isn’t always so cut-and-dried. Firing employees for wearing headscarves? Discriminatory. Firing employees for refusing to transport alcohol? Perhaps a tougher case.
Of course you can fire anyone for substandard work or non-performance. But what if that non-performance is due to the exercise of religious beliefs? Or, as a letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges, what if the employee’s performance was satisfactory, but only because they were shirking their religious duties?
No Time to Pray
“Ms. A, Ms. B, and Ms. C’s charges allege how employees feared taking time away to pray, since that lost time would reduce a worker’s ‘rate’ or how many items a worker packs per hour,” according to the letter. “Employees who regularly fell short of the rate – simply because they attempted to observe their religious obligations to pray – faced repercussions such as ‘write-ups’ that could lead to termination.”
Company Culture
If you’re hoping to avoid similar claims or investigations, talk to an experienced employment attorney about how to make reasonable accommodations for your religious employees.
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