On November 9, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) voted 3-2 to release a proposed update to Section 12 of the EEOC Compliance Manual addressing religious discrimination. Section 12 of the Compliance Manual has not been revised since 2008. The public has until December 17, 2020 to issue comments to the proposed update,
employment discrimination based upon religion
“Look Policy” Of Abercrombie & Fitch To Be Reviewed By Supreme Court
Way back on July 29, 2011 we wrote that an Oklahoma jury had awarded $20,000 in damages to a devout Muslim job applicant refused hiring by Abercrombie & Fitch when she appeared for an interview wearing a headscarf, or hijab, which she wore for religious reasons. Abercrombie & Fitch argued that it has what it…
“Anti-Harassment At The Heart Of EEOC’s Mission”
Incidents of harassment against Muslim and Arab employees have been on the rise, with virulent and racist epithets and slurs at the core.
On October 2, 2013 we reported on a national origin and religious discrimination case filing by the EEOC against a car dealership in Illinois, alleging a hostile work environment created against Muslim…
EEOC’s “Gift” For The Holiday Season: Three Religious Discrimination Settlements
We discussed religious accommodation a lot in the last year, and on October 23, 2012 we commented that religion and the workplace is a big topic on both sides of the Atlantic, with the issue of religious liberty in the workplace bedeviling the courts.
The EEOC ended the year with a nod to religious discrimination…
Beard Worth $50,000 To the EEOC
The title is a little flip, but the subject matter of accommodation for religious practices is serious.
A Muslim employee of McDonald’s in Fresno requested a religious accommodation: the right to grow a beard in accordance with his religious beliefs. His request was refused and he was fired. The EEOC sued and The Fresno Bee…
“Compliance: Religious Discrimination – It’s On The Rise”: Article By Lily Strumwasser
Apropos of our posts recently chronicalling the increase in the number of cases of religious discrimination, we recommend an article written by my friend Lily Strumwasser, Esq. in Inside Counsel entitled “Compliance: Religious Discrimination – It’s On The Rise.”
Lily describes what religious discrimination is, charts the rise in lawsuits nicely, set forth a short…
Wall Street Journal Article Today On Employment Discrimination Based Upon Religion
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,…
Prayer Time Accommodation For Muslim Employees Ruled An “Undue Hardship”
On April 16, 2013, we posted about an employment discrimination case where a federal judge denied summary judgment to a company which allegedly fired 80 Somali Muslim employees for requesting time for a prayer break — a “religious accommodation.”
The EEOC had sued on their behalf alleging that during Ramadan in 2008, the employees…
Pray That You Don’t Get Sued: Religious Discrimination Cases Abound (And Update Alert! Abercrombie Just Won One On Appeal)
On September 9th we wrote about a new EEOC religious discrimination lawsuit which it filed in Denver against JetStream Ground Services. “The EEOC alleges that JetStream refused to hire or utilize numerous female Muslims to clean aircraft cabins, even though many had been doing this for years. The alleged reason – they requested an accommodation…
Multi-Million Dollar Employment Discrimination Verdict for Muslim Woman
On April 29th we discussed the disturbing trend of an increase in the number of Muslims filing charges and lawsuits alleging employment discrimination on the basis of religion, and noted the statistics and a few recent charges filed.
Now, Mará Rose Williams of the Kansas City Star has reported that what appears to be the…