Religious Discrimination Case Study

Issue: Can I fire or not hire someone based upon their religious beliefs or practices, and can I get away with it?

Concise Answer: No, an employer cannot discriminate against anyone due to their religious beliefs and base employment decisions upon their practices, unless their accommodations lead to an “undue hardship”, if not, then this would be called religious discrimination. Religious discrimination entails treating individuals differently in their place of employment because of their religious beliefs, practices, or request for accommodation. Denial of religious accommodation is the most common form of religious discrimination that can happen in a workplace. Regardless of the form of religious discrimination that takes place, it is illegal

The federal law serves to protect individuals from religious discrimination. Title VII protects individuals by making it illegal for an employer to discriminate against individuals due to their religion. This law applies whether the employer is seeking to hire or fire, promote, offer a raise or other opportunities to advance the employee in their position. The decision of the employer cannot be based upon the employee’s religious beliefs. Title VII also requires employers to reasonably accommodate their employee’s religious practices, unless it would lead to an “undue hardship” for the employer. An accommodation may lead to an undue hardship if it becomes costly, interfere with the safety of the workplace, decrease its productivity, invade the rights of other employees, or require other employees to do more than their fair share of work due to the constant accommodations for other employees. Besides an undue hardship, if it is not present, an employer cannot simply treat or value their employees differently, as if they are more or less favorable than others as a result of their religion, and employees cannot be required to join in or refrain from joining in an activity as a condition to keep their employment. Employers must also practice preventative methods to avoid this type of discrimination from other employees against their co-workers. Most states also have their own laws that make it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their religion and some states also provide additional protections for workers that have been subjected to this type of