LABOR LAW
By Ellen Savage, HR Advisor
Reprinted with permission from CalChamber
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
“My employee just asked to be removed from the schedule
for Sundays so she can attend church, and requested to
work Saturdays instead. Could I compromise and give
her every other Sunday off or schedule her for Thursdays
instead of her requested Saturdays, or do I have to honor
her request exactly as made? May I ask for a note from
her pastor that she really does attend church?”
Employers must reasonably accommodate their employees’
religious beliefs, including making changes in their work
schedules, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.
If there is more than one reasonable accommodation that
would meet the employee’s religious needs, the employer is not
obligated to provide the exact accommodation requested by the
employee.
ACCOMMODATING REQUESTS
In this case, the employer could offer the option of working
every other Sunday only if it could show it would be an undue
hardship to give this employee every Sunday off. This will be
determined by looking at all the circumstances, including
whether there are enough employees who could be scheduled
for Sundays.
Although other employees may also prefer to have Sundays off
for nonreligious reasons, the employee who has a religious
reason will take priority. This generally is true even if other
employees have more seniority, or have not worked Sundays in
the past and/or do not want to work on Sundays.
Since offering only every other Sunday off does not fully
eliminate the religious conflict, it would not be considered
reasonable unless the employer could show the business would
suffer an undue hardship. This might be the case if so many
employees wanted Sunday off for religious reasons that the
business would not be able to stay open on Sundays.
The employer could offer to accommodate the employee by
scheduling her for Thursdays instead of the Saturdays she had
requested.
While the employee might not want to work Thursdays
because she takes a college class or does not have daycare for
her children that day, the employer is not required to grant the
employee’s preferred change of schedule so long as the schedule
change granted reasonably accommodates the religious need.
VERIFICATION OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Where an employer has bona fide doubt about the need for an
accommodation or the sincerity of the employee’s religious
belief, the employer may ask the employee for information to
address the employer’s doubts.
Federal guidelines indicate, however, that an employee’s own
explanation of the religious belief may be sufficient so that
written verification from a third party, such as the employee’s
pastor (or other religious leader) would not be necessary.
Requesting unnecessary evidence could subject the employer to
claims of denial of reasonable accommodation, as well as
retaliation and harassment. 䡲
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