{"id":2824,"date":"2014-09-05T09:09:59","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T13:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2024-08-30T11:29:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T15:29:45","slug":"religious-accommodations-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/religious-accommodations-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Accommodations in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act<\/a> prohibits discrimination based on a job applicant\u2019s or employee\u2019s religion.\u00a0 But did you know that federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws also require employers to provide religious accommodations in the workplace for employees with sincerely held beliefs?<\/p>\n

So what is an employer to do when an employee asks for Sundays off to worship, or rest breaks twice daily for prayer?<\/p>\n

The law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee\u2019s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause \u201cmore than a minimal burden\u201d on the operations of the business. Therefore, the organization is statutorily required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow employees to practice and adhere to their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

That leaves many employers wondering how to evaluate such requests.\u00a0 Here are a few questions that should be considered when evaluating a request for religious accommodation:<\/p>\n