Managing Religious Diversity in the Workplace

Meeting the Law?

Religious discrimination in the workplace is illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and employers are legally required to accommodate different religious faiths, granted these accommodations don't cause them undue hardship. But Tanenbaum's survey indicated that the religious needs of employees are not always accommodated. Of workers surveyed, 36% said they saw a form of religious non-accommodation in their companies, and one-third said that they have seen or personally experienced religious bias in their workplace.

Non-Accommodation

Non-accommodation refers to a range of behavior ' from a lack of kosher or halal food options at work functions, to requirements to work on the Sabbath or a religious holiday, to making fun of employees' religious beliefs, dress, or practices. Gerald Maatman, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw, said that he has also seen an increase in complaints involving religion in the workplace.

“I'd agree with the findings of the study anecdotally in my legal practice,” he said adding that he has seen an upswing in claims of religious and national origin discrimination in the post-9/11 era. Maatman notes that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has prioritized the issue of religious discrimination.

A Widespread Problem

The Tanenbaum survey revealed that 49% of non-Christian workers said they experienced or witnessed some kind of religious non-accommodation, as did 40% of atheists. According to Dubensky, though, what some may find surprising is that concerns about non-accommodation extend to the majority religion in the U.S.

“There are members of the Christian community who are feeling marginalized and need to have their religious needs, their belief needs addressed as well,” she said.

Some 48% of white Evangelical Christian workers reported experiencing or witnessing religious non-accommodation in the workplace. Fifty-five percent of white Evangelical Protestants said they believed religious discrimination against Christians has become as big a problem as discrimination against religious minorities.

Company Protocol

Dubensky noted that many companies are still behind the curve when it comes to adjusting to religious diversity.

“I think most companies have not fully designed the policies that they need to around religion, and they certainly have not communicated enough about them, or implemented them fully,” she said.

In the survey, 42% of respondents said their companies had materials explaining their policies on religious discrimination, and 44% said their employers offered flexible work hours to allow religious observance or prayer. Nevertheless, Maatman suggested that companies need a clear protocol for dealing with requests for accommodation of employees' religion. Too many companies, he said, are still handling these requests ad hoc.

“Every case becomes a vexing problem where HR isn't coordinating responses, and that leads to inconsistent treatment, and that leads to discrimination charges,” he said.

Aside from the issue of avoiding litigation, Dubensky points out that there is a “strong business case” for addressing religious diversity in the workplace proactively.

“When you're competing for the best talent, that doesn't come in one size, shape, or religion,” she noted.

The survey indicated that at companies without clear processes to address complaints, employees are nearly twice as likely to be looking for a new job.

“Companies that have flexible hours ' where people could, if they needed to, pray ' the employees are two times as likely to be looking forward to going to work,” Dubensky said.

Replacing an employee who leaves because of dissatisfaction with his or her company's approach to religion can be quite expensive, she added. Dubensky also believes that having a multitude of religious perspectives can better equip a company to tackle new and diverse markets.

“There's a real reason for companies to get proactive. It will affect their bottom line, it will affect their market share, it will affect their customer base, and their customer relations.”

Rebakah Mintzer is a reporter for Corporate Counsel, an ALM sister publication of this newsletter in which this article also appeared.

In the U.S. workplace, increasing religious diversity means additional labor and employment responsibilities for in-house counsel, according to a new report from the Tanenbaum Center for Religious Understanding, a secular and nonsectarian nonprofit organization that works to promote religious tolerance and combat prejudice.

“What American Workers Really Think About Religion: Tanenbaum's 2013 Survey of American Workers and Religion” concludes that with more religious diversity among employees comes more potential for conflict. Employers and their counsel must anticipate and eliminate potential for bias and discriminatory practices.

“I think the first thing is to realize that religion is a workplace issue, and that it's wise to proactively include it in all efforts that come out of the diversity and inclusion department in the company or the HR department,” says Joyce Dubensky, Tanenbaum CEO. “And that's going to benefit the company.”

Meeting the Law?

Religious discrimination in the workplace is illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and employers are legally required to accommodate different religious faiths, granted these accommodations don't cause them undue hardship. But Tanenbaum's survey indicated that the religious needs of employees are not always accommodated. Of workers surveyed, 36% said they saw a form of religious non-accommodation in their companies, and one-third said that they have seen or personally experienced religious bias in their workplace.

Non-Accommodation

Non-accommodation refers to a range of behavior ' from a lack of kosher or halal food options at work functions, to requirements to work on the Sabbath or a religious holiday, to making fun of employees' religious beliefs, dress, or practices. Gerald Maatman, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw, said that he has also seen an increase in complaints involving religion in the workplace.

“I'd agree with the findings of the study anecdotally in my legal practice,” he said adding that he has seen an upswing in claims of religious and national origin discrimination in the post-9/11 era. Maatman notes that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has prioritized the issue of religious discrimination.

A Widespread Problem

The Tanenbaum survey revealed that 49% of non-Christian workers said they experienced or witnessed some kind of religious non-accommodation, as did 40% of atheists. According to Dubensky, though, what some may find surprising is that concerns about non-accommodation extend to the majority religion in the U.S.

“There are members of the Christian community who are feeling marginalized and need to have their religious needs, their belief needs addressed as well,” she said.

Some 48% of white Evangelical Christian workers reported experiencing or witnessing religious non-accommodation in the workplace. Fifty-five percent of white Evangelical Protestants said they believed religious discrimination against Christians has become as big a problem as discrimination against religious minorities.

Company Protocol

Dubensky noted that many companies are still behind the curve when it comes to adjusting to religious diversity.

“I think most companies have not fully designed the policies that they need to around religion, and they certainly have not communicated enough about them, or implemented them fully,” she said.

In the survey, 42% of respondents said their companies had materials explaining their policies on religious discrimination, and 44% said their employers offered flexible work hours to allow religious observance or prayer. Nevertheless, Maatman suggested that companies need a clear protocol for dealing with requests for accommodation of employees' religion. Too many companies, he said, are still handling these requests ad hoc.

“Every case becomes a vexing problem where HR isn't coordinating responses, and that leads to inconsistent treatment, and that leads to discrimination charges,” he said.

Aside from the issue of avoiding litigation, Dubensky points out that there is a “strong business case” for addressing religious diversity in the workplace proactively.

“When you're competing for the best talent, that doesn't come in one size, shape, or religion,” she noted.

The survey indicated that at companies without clear processes to address complaints, employees are nearly twice as likely to be looking for a new job.

“Companies that have flexible hours ' where people could, if they needed to, pray ' the employees are two times as likely to be looking forward to going to work,” Dubensky said.

Replacing an employee who leaves because of dissatisfaction with his or her company's approach to religion can be quite expensive, she added. Dubensky also believes that having a multitude of religious perspectives can better equip a company to tackle new and diverse markets.

“There's a real reason for companies to get proactive. It will affect their bottom line, it will affect their market share, it will affect their customer base, and their customer relations.”

Rebakah Mintzer is a reporter for Corporate Counsel, an ALM sister publication of this newsletter in which this article also appeared.