ACLU Defense of Religious Practice and Expression (including in the workplace)

[NYC_SKP]

As a service to any who might be confused about the rights of workers to to openly express their beliefs, and the sometimes contradictory rights of others to feel free of pressure to conform to religious practices observed at one's workplace, I'm starting this thread with a few links that may help to clarify.

AFAIK, a private business owner may practice openly, and even hold a daily prayer during the workday, and violate no laws. That doesn't mean that there isn't pressure to nonbelievers who work in this same place.

However, if that business works with public funds, then anyone objecting to such practices might have a case against such practices, though I'm not certain.

Any articles or insights you can offer would be most welcome, especially if it describes policy and legislation in your city or state, distinct from national policy.

This first article is less about the workplace than about defending expression publicly.

ACLU Defense of Religious Practice and Expression

The ACLU vigorously defends the rights of all Americans to practice their religion. But because the ACLU is often better known for its work preventing the government from promoting and funding selected religious activities, it is sometimes wrongly assumed that the ACLU does not zealously defend the rights of all religious believers to practice their faith. The actions described below – over half of which were brought on behalf of self-identified Christians, with the remaining cases defending the rights of a wide range of minority faiths – reveal just how mistaken such assumptions are. (The list below includes only recent examples.)

More at the link: https://www.aclu.org/aclu-defense-religious-practice-and-expression

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a Q&A page about workplace discrimination specifically:

[div class="excerpt"]Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with at least 15 employees, as well as employment agencies and unions, from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It also prohibits retaliation against persons who complain of discrimination or participate in an EEO investigation. With respect to religion, Title VII prohibits:

---treating applicants or employees differently based on their religious beliefs or practices – or lack thereof – in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring, assignments, discipline, promotion, and benefits (disparate treatment);

---subjecting employees to harassment because of their religious beliefs or practices – or lack thereof – or because of the religious practices or beliefs of people with whom they associate (e.g., relatives, friends, etc.);

---denying a requested reasonable accommodation of an applicant’s or employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices – or lack thereof – if an accommodation will not impose more than a de minimis cost or burden on business operations; 1 and,

---retaliating against an applicant or employee who has engaged in protected activity, including participation (e.g., filing an EEO charge or testifying as a witness in someone else’s EEO matter), or opposition to religious discrimination (e.g., complaining to human resources department about alleged religious discrimination).

The following questions and answers were adapted from EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination, available at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/religion.html, which contains more detailed guidance, legal citations, case examples, and best practices. It is designed to be a practical resource for employers, employees, practitioners, and EEOC enforcement staff on Title VII’s prohibition against religious discrimination, and provides guidance on how to balance the needs of individuals in a diverse religious climate.

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_religion.html

This question of what is allowed is not new; The Clinton administration in 1997 addressed it quite clearly:

On August 14, 1997 the Clinton White House released one of the most far-reaching set of guidelines for religious expression. Far from limiting conversation about faith, these guidelines outline the tremendous freedom Americans have in the Constitution to speak about faith as well as explaining rules about what is inappropriate. -

Those guidelines: http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/New/html/19970819-3275.html

See more at: http://centerforfaithandwork.com/article/guidelines-religious-exercise-and-religious-expression-federal-workplace#sthash.rcxWMaR2.dpuf

This "workplace prayer" predicament is not one that I've personally encountered, though I have felt pressure to do other social things that the boss and others enjoy that I do not.

I'm uncomfortable with the idea that a supervisor might "strongly encourage" participation in a religious practice, especially if it's a business working with public funds, but I also go along with the crowd in saying the pledge or singing the Star Spangled Banner; I choose my real life battles differently.

Generally, I think the rights of believers need to be in balance with the rights of atheists and agnostics, that's the only way to ensure comfort for all.

YMMV.