Three days is a long time to wait to explain a religious objection. In this case, the wait came after the conflict, and that was enough to sink the accommodation claim.
HR can ask an employee to explain a religious conflict. The trouble begins when the review turns into a theological examination.
A job applicant told a polygraph examiner that she consumed ayahuasca as part of her religion. An agency adjudicator labeled it “recent illegal drug use,” and the tentative job offer disappeared.
An employee requested a religious exemption from a vaccine mandate but initially refused to answer most of her employer’s follow-up questions. By the time she completed the form, the employer said its decision was final.
You’ve probably seen the headlines. Two flight attendants fired for posting about the Equality Act, a Ninth Circuit reversal, and the usual takes about religion vs. LGBTQ rights in the workplace. Here’s what those takes mostly missed.
Granting a religious accommodation request and then placing the employee on indefinite unpaid leave can itself be retaliation. A federal district court in Illinois recently refused to dismiss a Title VII religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit built on exactly that theory.
Who would have guessed that the most interesting religious discrimination issue of the week would show up on a Major League Baseball field?
A teacher gets twice the students, a warning for observing a religious holiday, and a misconduct investigation after venting on a union Facebook page. She loses every claim.
Sometimes the facts supporting a religious accommodation denial are so strong that skipping the accommodation process doesn’t sink you. This healthcare employer found that out — and the 9th Circuit’s reasoning tells you exactly why.
The Employer Handbook Blog