5 Most Common Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Beliefs

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on religion.

It specifically states:

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Unless it creates an undue hardship, this means that employers are required to accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs in the workplace. What exactly is a religion, though? Title VII defines “religion” pretty broadly. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the term “religion” includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, as well as “religious beliefs that are new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, or only held by a small number of people.” An employee has a right to accommodation even if his or her religious beliefs are newly adopted or not consistently observed.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, it is important to know that reasonable accommodations should be available based on the religious protections under Title VII. The list below includes 5 common reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs.

1.     Changes in the Work Schedule

It is common for religions to have certain days reserved for specific religious practices. For example, Catholics have Good Friday. A Catholic employee may request a schedule change in order to be able to attend Good Friday church services. A Muslim employee may request a schedule that will allow time for daily prayer at certain times. If a religion involves ritual ceremonies, an employer should provide the employee a schedule that allows the employee time to participate in those ceremonies. Essentially, if a schedule prohibits you from engaging in a religious practice, you can request a reasonable accommodation.

2.     Exceptions to the Dress Code

You may see Muslim women wearing hijabs or Jewish men wearing yarmulkes in public. These women and men have a right to wear them at work as well. This accommodation works in the opposite way as well; if someone’s religious beliefs prevent them from wearing a certain type of clothing, they should not be required to wear it at work. Any religious belief regarding clothing and grooming should be accommodated. Exceptions in the dress code should be allowed on the basis of any sincerely held religious beliefs. 

3.     Changes in Job Duties

Suppose an employee’s religious beliefs clash with a task he is assigned to do. As long as it doesn’t cause an undue hardship for the employer, the employee should not be required to complete this task, nor be retaliated against for not completing it. For example, if you work in a factory that produces weapons used in war, and your religious beliefs prohibit you from working on them, you can request a change in your duties.

4.     Use of Company Facilities in Religious Practices

As previously mentioned, some religions involve scheduled prayer. If an employee needs a designated place to pray, it should be provided to him or her under Title VII. This accommodation is probably more likely to result in an undue hardship than the others, but employees still have the right to request and receive it if possible.

5.     Excused Absence from Religious Activities

Suppose a staff meeting begins with a religious invocation. Now suppose an atheist employee is present. Since the religiously themed meeting goes against her religious beliefs (or lack thereof), she should be excused from attending. If the atheist employee was Christian, but the religiously themed invocation was Jewish, she should be excused from attending. In essence, no employee should be required to participate in any religious practice or be punished for not participating.

Remember, in addition to the above accommodations, religious employees are entitled to protection from unequal treatment, job segregation, and harassment based on their religion. It is important to keep in mind both the employer’s and the employee’s rights and responsibilities in the workplace, especially under Title VII.