Articles Discussing Reasonable Accommodations For Employees Based On Religious Beliefs.
Littler Lounge: Redefining “Reasonable” – Religion and the Workplace
Littler Lounge: Redefining “Reasonable” – Religion and the Workplace
Claire Deason and Nicole LeFave are joined by Littler attorney Devjani Mishra for a conversation that starts with pandemic-era policy puzzles and ends somewhere near the Supreme Court. From temperature checks in parking lots to a tidal wave of exemption requests,
EEOC Moves to Strengthen Religious Accommodation Rights Post-Groff: Key Insights for Employers
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is beginning to clarify an employer’s burden in workplace religious accommodation cases after the Supreme Court of the United States’ Groff v. DeJoy decision in 2023. Two post-Groff federal workforce decisions suggest that employers must engage in a robust and well-documented interactive process
The New Era of Religious Accommodations: Clarifying the Standard for “Sincere Religious Beliefs” and Evaluating Undue Hardship
The New Era of Religious Accommodations: Clarifying the Standard for “Sincere Religious Beliefs” and Evaluating Undue Hardship
Since vaccines became available in response to COVID-19, courts have dealt with an onslaught of litigation involving religious accommodation in the workplace. Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
New Federal Religious Expression and Accommodations Guidance May Impact Private Employers
In July 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued two important memos regarding religious accommodations and religious expression in federal workplaces. Although these memos apply only to federal agencies, they increase the likelihood that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will adopt similar guidance for private employers
Caroline Berdzik Analyzes Decision on Religious Accommodation Requests in Law360 Article
In a Law360 article, Goldberg Segalla’s Caroline Berdzik analyzes a recent Third Circuit decision centered on religious accommodation requests.
Prayers for Religious Holiday Time Off May Need to Be Accommodated by Employers
Knowing several religious holidays are coming up soon, employers can take steps to avoid triggering religious discrimination and reasonable accommodation lawsuits. Consistently applying paid time off rules can help to prevent discrimination, retaliation, and religious reasonable accommodation claims.
What the Changed Standard for Religious Accommodations Means for the Shift-Based Retail Industry
The retail industry is a shift-based industry, dependent on workers signing up for weekday and weekend shifts, for holidays, and for times when few average workers would dream of being awake and at work. What if an employee cannot work a required shift because of a sincerely held religious belief? The U.S. Supreme Court’s accommodation decision in Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (2023), may have a unique impact on this industry.
Dear Littler: How Do We Handle Requests for Time Off for Religious Observance?
Dear Littler: We are a retail store with locations across the country. We are open seven days a week, and our sales staff have rotating shifts to provide coverage throughout the week.
Dear Littler: Must we accommodate an employee’s religious views in every instance?
I’m an HR representative at an advertising agency based in New York City. We have a question about a religiously vocal employee.
Religious Accommodations and Mandatory Vaccination
This HRW Client Alert provides a brief overview of employer obligations and options when faced
with a religious accommodation request. Employers are strongly encouraged to discuss
accommodation requests with counsel as the decision whether to grant such requests is fact
specific and may depend on the workplace, the employee’s position, the basis for the request, and
evolving science and public health concerns.
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year to Contemplate Religious Accommodations under Title VII
With the holidays fast approaching, many employers are due for a refresh on how and when to provide religious accommodations to their employees. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion.
Religious Accommodations: When Biometric Scanners and the Mark of the Beast Collide
Increasingly, employers are turning to biometric scanners – usually a fingerprint or hand scanner – to track employees’ working time. This method for clocking in and out is generally more efficient and accurate than traditional methods, such as using a punch clock.
Hospital May Fire Employee Who Refused Influenza Vaccination, Federal Court Finds
A Boston hospital reasonably accommodated an employee’s religious objections to its influenza vaccination program by offering alternatives, but exempting the employee from the vaccination requirement would impose an undue hardship on the hospital because of the risk of infection to patients, a federal court in Massachusetts has concluded, granting the hospital’s motion for summary judgment in an employee’s religious discrimination suit. Leontine K. Robinson v. Children’s Hospital Boston, C.A. No. 14-10263-DJC (D. Mass. Apr. 5, 2016).
Religious Objectors: Employer’s Duty to Make Religious Accommodations
Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis was recently jailed due to her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. In other news, a flight attendant refused to serve alcohol due to her religious beliefs. The public reaction to both situations was intense and the debate well-publicized. These events also highlight a new wave of confusion regarding the requirements facing employers with respect to religious accommodations. The answer for employers can differ widely depending upon the industry, jurisdiction, legislation and the specific interpretation of the laws at issue. Some states have enacted so-called religious freedom statutes and thus religious objectors have significant protections. Read on for tips to employers.