Religious beliefs and practices can sometimes conflict with workplace schedules, policies, or other job requirements. When that happens, employers must balance their business needs with their employees’ rights to practice their religion without discrimination.
Here are the key points to understand when these two factors intersect:
What legal protections apply to religious accommodations?
Federal and Minnesota laws protect employees from religious discrimination at work. These laws cover more than hiring and firing. They can also affect work schedules, professional dress policies, and other workplace rules.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Minnesota Human Rights Act generally require covered employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs, unless the requested accommodation would cause an undue hardship to the business.
What counts as a religious accommodation?
A religious accommodation means making a reasonable change to a work rule, schedule, or practice so an employee can follow or practice a sincerely held religious belief. Depending on the situation, you might:
- Adjust an employee’s work schedule so that they may observe a religious holiday;
- Allow time for midday prayer;
- Make an exception to a dress, hair, or grooming policy; and
- Allow other reasonable adjustments to a workplace practice.
The appropriate solution depends on the employee’s circumstances and your workplace. You do not necessarily have to provide the specific option an employee requests if another reasonable accommodation would resolve the conflict.
Can you deny a religious accommodation?
You can deny a request when the change would cause an undue hardship to your business operations. However, a small hassle, a minor work change, or even a co-worker’s or customer’s discomfort, objection, or complaint does not typically meet that standard. Under Groff v. DeJoy (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2023), employers must look at whether the change would cause “substantial increased costs” in order to deny a religious accommodation.
For example, you may have a policy that employees do not wear hats or caps. If an employee requests an accommodation that would allow them to wear a religious head covering, you would most likely be unable to deny that request because their head covering costs you nothing. The exception would be if the head covering did not fit under required safety gear or posed some other safety risk. If such an exception exists, then both the employer and employee should discuss alternative accommodations that would satisfy both of their needs.
What protections apply after an employee requests an accommodation?
An employee who asks for religious accommodation remains protected from discrimination and retaliation. You should review the request based on the facts rather than make assumptions about the employee’s beliefs or treat the request as a basis for discipline.
A consistent approach can also help you separate valid work concerns from personal objections to an employee’s religious practice.
Review your approach to religious accommodations
Reviewing your workplace policies and accommodation practices with an attorney can help you spot problems before they become disputes. An attorney can also help you assess a request, decide whether an undue hardship exists, and choose a proper response under both federal and state law.