Great article in today’s Wall Street Journal  (page B1) about employment discrimination in the workplace based upon religion – and the increasing number of claims filed by employees.  It discusses the cases which we have discussed over the last year or two, including the Abercrombie cases, and describes the fact patterns involving dress codes, “religious garb,” working on the Sabbath, and issues where “[j]ob duties that intersect with changing public policies … test some workers’ adherence to their religious beliefs.”

The reporter, Melanie Trottman, notes that “Part of the surge comes from employees – Muslims, Christians, Seventh-Day Adventists and others – who were denied requests to avoid work on Sabbath days.  Conflicts also have erupted over workers’ appearance, particularly in jobs requiring uniforms, involving food preparation and in image-focused fashion retailing.”

She also says that “Experts on religion and the law attribute the rising conflict to immigration, a more open discussion of religion and workers’ growing assertiveness.”

This is a good, short summary of all of our previous posts on religious discrimination: the legal issues, the reasons for the rise in such charges, and the cases which illustrate the issues.