Total Articles: 7
Accommodation for Healthcare Employees Objecting to Abortion-Related Procedures
Healthcare employees who object to providing patient care for women seeking an abortion have long presented a thorny issue for healthcare employers. A recent settlement in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is a reminder that this issue continues to raise tricky questions. Nonetheless, a careful employer can successfully navigate these issues and avoid common pit-falls.
Barring Employees From Answering Questions About Religion May Violate Title VII
In Weathers v. FedEx Corporate Services, a federal district court ruled that a former FedEx manager could proceed to trial on his claim that FedEx failed to accommodate his religious beliefs by prohibiting him from answering questions about his religion in the workplace.
Court Rejects Terminated Worker's Religious Discrimination Suit.
A federal appellate court recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of an employee who claimed that his employer discriminated against him because of his religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. According to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the employer satisfied its obligation to reasonably accommodate the worker's religious beliefs.
Accommodating the Faithful.
A recent case from the Eleventh Circuit reminds us that navigating the minefield of religious accommodation issues can be difficult but manageable. Cynthia Morrissette-Brown is a Seventh-Day Adventist who claimed that her employer did not reasonably accommodate her "deep religious convictions" which prevented her from working Friday or Saturday shifts. The employer ultimately prevailed by showing that it had a neutral rotating shift system and that it provided Ms. Morrissette-Brown the opportunity to swap shifts with her co-workers. Morrissette-Brown v. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
Holiday Tips to Avoid Religious Discrimination in the Workplace (pdf).
The end of the year and the accompanying holidays often bring requests by employees for time off for the religious observances and requests to display religious symbols at work.
Accommodating Religious Beliefs In Healthcare Settings.
In recent years, much attention to religious discrimination in the workplace has centered around Islamic religious practices. Not surprisingly, the EEOC reported seeing a spike in discrimination claims by Muslims after 9/11. In June, a federal jury in Arizona awarded a Muslim woman $288,000 after she was fired four months after the 9/11 attacks for wearing a head scarf during Ramadan.
[Hospitality Labor Letter] Finding God and Skipping Work: Reasonable Accommodation of Religious Employees
For the most part, you've been delighted with the work of your hostess. She charms the customers at the door, handles problems with the wait staff smoothly and professionally, and best of all she's dependable as clockwork. Till now. She's found a new religion, you're not sure which one, but claims she can no longer work from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, making her unavailable for one of your busiest periods. Can you insist that she work that time period? Can you discipline her if she refuses? What about the fact that when she hired in, she said she would be available for work seven days a week, if necessary?
