Religious discrimination is when an employee or potential employee is treated unfairly due to their religious beliefs. Religious employment discrimination in Bartlett can include unfavorable treatment to people who hold traditional religious beliefs such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism and also to those who have sincere ethical or moral beliefs. Whether you’re an employee or an employer, here is what you need to know about religious employment discrimination.
Hiring and Discrimination
First and foremost, you can’t fire or let anyone go due to their religious beliefs. This is one of the more obvious conditions of this law. Additionally, you can’t segregate anyone based on religion. Many different religions might have religious garb or grooming practices that are different from the rest. It doesn’t matter if you think that your customers may have a religious preference, you can’t keep anyone from customer contact based on religion.
Harassment
Harassment can come in many different forms on the work place. When you’re looking into religious employment discrimination in Bartlett, it’s important to look at what constitutes as harassment. Usually, this refers to offensive remarks. Now, isolated instances are not usually something that leads to legal action. However, when the instances are frequent and severe and cause a hostile work environment. If you run a business, it’s important to make sure that your employees and supervisors are well aware of the harassment laws. Small instances can easily turn into serious problems.
Accommodation and Grooming
When it comes to accommodating an employee’s religious practices, an employer is required to reasonably accommodate. Generally, this means that the practices must only cause minimal burden on the business’s operations. For example, some people may need flexible scheduling or modifications to policies or practices. Additionally, if you have an employee who may require specific head coverings or facial hair, you should be able to accommodate for it. This also covers employees who might have religious beliefs that prohibit them from wearing certain articles of clothing.
The laws that protect people against religious employment discrimination in Bartlett are necessary for businesses to run without a hostile environment. While these are some of the basics of religious discrimination law, there are many other factors involved. As an employer, you need to understand what you can and cannot do under the law to avoid any lawsuits. It’s imperative for both employers and employees to understand more than the basics of the law, especially if you think that you may have been discriminated against.
