On The Front Lines
Institute Issues Report on Workplace Discrimination, Calls on Congress to Protect Religious Employees
Calling on Congress to take legislative action to protect the rights of religious individuals in the workplace, The Rutherford Institute has issued a special report and 10-year overview of religious discrimination in the workplace. In addition to illustrating how protections for religious persons in the workplace have been weakened by various court rulings over the years, the report provides a 10-year overview of workplace religious discrimination cases handled by Rutherford Institute attorneys and highlights the sharp increase of religious discrimination complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in recent years. Specifically, the report calls for the passage of the proposed Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which was co-sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and has languished in Congress since being introduced in April 2003.A copy of the report "Religious Discrimination in the Workplace: An Epidemic in Need of a Legislative Cure" is available online here [PDF].
"Religious employees should not be required to check their faith at their employer's door," stated John W. Whitehead, president and founder of The Rutherford Institute. "Title VII's religious accommodation provisions once protected religious employees, but three decades of case law have eroded those protections. By passing the WRFA, Congress would once again truly prohibit religious discrimination in the workplace."
In his introduction to the report, Whitehead points out that:
"[F]or years Christians and Jews, among others, have filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about being forced to work on their day of Sabbath, some of which have generated lawsuits. And with the increasing involvement of Muslims, Sikhs and other religions in the workforce, complaints concerning the wearing of turbans, beards and hijabs have caused complaints and controversy. Indeed, worker reports of religious discrimination to the EEOC have jumped more than 20 percent in the last several years--driven primarily by claims of retaliation against Muslims. The increase reflects the changing face of America and the growing interjection of religion into the workplace, which is obviously creating new challenges for employers. The change is due in part to the nation's increasing religious diversity and the fact that employees who take their religion seriously are willing to resist attempts to stifle it. Indeed, there are changing expectations by workers who are openly bringing a religious identity to the job."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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