OUR FOCUS: Religious Discrimination

Religious discrimination in the context of employment, involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) differently because of his or her religious beliefs. It also includes treating employees differently because of their lack of religious belief or practice. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs.

Religious discrimination can also involve treating someone differently because that person is married to (or associated with) an individual of a particular religion.

Legally, religious discrimination is covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  as well as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

What counts as religious discrimination in the workplace? 

Some workers experiencing religious discrimination in the workplace may also experience other forms of illegal discrimination, such as national origin discrimination, immigration/citizenship status discrimination, and/or race discrimination.

The most common religious discrimination examples are:

• Harassment - Harassing individuals due to their religion can include making fun of employees or telling them they are violating the company's dress code because they wear religious clothing such as yarmulkes, turbans, or hijabs (head scarves); repeatedly mocking a person because of (or lack of) his or her strong beliefs.
• Hiring, Firing, Promotion - This type of discrimination in the workplace includes making employment decisions based upon someone's faith, or lack thereof.
• Failure to Accommodate - Denial of religious accommodation is the most common form of religious discrimination in the workplace. This type of discrimination can include requiring an employee to work on his Sunday Sabbath, even though other employees are willing to trade shifts with him or forcing an employee to remove her hijab (scarf) to comply with the company's dress code.
• Imposing more or different work requirements on an employee because of that employee’s religious beliefs or practices.

If you believe you are the victim of religious discrimination in the workplace, we can help you. Speak with a religious discrimination lawyer who specializes in getting results under California law before you file a complaint.