Religious accommodation can be a tricky topic for most HR professionals. Of course, they want to support employees but don’t want to find themselves in the middle of a lawsuit. Below are some of the most common religious accommodation requests employers hear, with practical advice for meeting employees’ and the organization’s needs.
Often, employees request schedule changes to meet religious needs. Changes such as arriving late, leaving early, taking a holiday off, or not working on a particular day of the week, are likely considered reasonable under religious accommodation laws. However, an employer does not have to reasonably accommodate a religious belief if doing so creates an “undue hardship.” The employer may be able to claim that changing a work schedule would result in an undue hardship if there is a substantial cost to making the change or if there is a significant negative impact on the business. For employees requesting longer periods of time off for a pre-planned religious event, employers can require the employee to provide sufficient notice, usually 30 days, to engage in an interactive process to consider their request.
Another common request is prayer at work. While a lunchroom or a break space could seem like the ideal spot for an employee requiring a prayer space, it can present challenges. If a larger group was using the space, other employees might feel like they could not use the communal space or must be quiet. It could also make them feel uncomfortable. For an individual with a daily prayer ritual, it might be tempting to set up a privacy screen in the lunchroom for the employee to pray, but the space could get loud, and curious people could peek around the screen. Ideally, an accommodation would involve designating an unused or private location in the workplace where a religious observance or practice would not be disruptive or disrupted.
The need for accommodations may also apply to an employee's dress or grooming practices for religious reasons. These might include wearing head coverings or other religious dress (such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf) or certain hairstyles or facial hair (such as Rastafarian dreadlocks or Sikh uncut hair and beard). It also includes an employee's observance of a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments (such as pants or miniskirts). Loose garments or hair can be a safety concern for manufacturing employers. Workarounds can include hair nets for beards or uniform alterations with rubber bands or other elastics to tighten loose sleeves, pant legs, or hair.
If your organization needs help managing religious accommodation requests and defining “undue hardship,” consider an Archbright membership. Eligible members can contact a Senior HR Advisor for guidance with complex HR issues through phone or chat on our online platform, mozzo.
For those extra sticky questions, Silver members have 15 hours per year to consult with an Attorney, and Gold members have unlimited employment law advice. Members also have access to hundreds of sample policies, forms, and educational Keynotes on HR topics such as religious accommodations. For more about membership, contact info@archbright.com.