The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion. It states this even before freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We take these freedoms for granted, even as we endlessly engage in legal and public debates about what they do and do not encompass. In other words, freedom of religious belief and religious practice in the United States has a longer history than employment discrimination law. Meanwhile, religion remains a protected characteristic, where you have the right to compensation if your employer discriminates against you because of it. Pursuing a claim based on religious discrimination can be more complicated than pursuing a discrimination claim based on another protected characteristic, because there are some situations where employers can give preferential treatment to members of one religious group at the expense of others. The Bozeman religious discrimination lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can help you if you have experienced religious discrimination at work.
Religious Affiliation and Religious Beliefs Are Protected Characteristics
Federal and state employment laws list religion as a protected characteristic. The laws might use the terms “religion,” “creed,” or “sect” in reference to this. The result is that your religious beliefs, or lack thereof, and the religious group to which you belong cannot be a basis for an employer taking an adverse action against you, with some exceptions for employers with a religious affiliation. Adverse actions can be single actions, such as refusing to hire a job candidate or passing up an employee for a raise, or they can be ongoing patterns of behavior, such as excessive scrutiny by supervisors or harassment and bullying by coworkers.
Legal Debates Over Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
Whether a certain action by an employer counts as religious discrimination is not always as clear-cut as you might imagine. For example, employees may ask for modifications to the dress code for religious reasons. For example, a company’s dress code may forbid employees to wear hats or head coverings, but it may count as religious discrimination if an employer does not let an employee wear a religiously prescribed head covering, such as an Orthodox Jewish man’s yarmulke or a Muslim woman’s hijab, at work. The employer may argue that a religiously prescribed piece of clothing, or an accessory with a religious symbol, is a safety hazard. Conversely, it is most likely discrimination if an employer has a policy against visible tattoos, and the employer refuses to hire a Coptic Orthodox Christian or Ethiopian Orthodox Christian employee who has a cross tattoo on his or her wrist.
Likewise, there have been legal debates over whether an employee may refuse to engage in a work task, without negative consequences, if it conflicts with his or her religious beliefs. Some of these highly publicized legal challenges have involved employees who belong to Christian denominations that oppose same sex marriage and work events that involve same sex weddings or same sex couples. It could conceivably also involve professional musicians performing songs with lyrics that conflict with their religious beliefs.
Another ongoing legal dispute about religious discrimination surrounds the question of whether the Hindu caste is a protected characteristic. Several local governments have listed caste as a protected characteristic, and plaintiffs have sued their employers because a Hindu employer experienced discriminatory treatment by a work supervisor from another Hindu caste. None of these jurisdictions is in Montana. If you experience caste discrimination in Montana, you should simply cite religious discrimination in your employment discrimination complaint.
What If the Employer Is a Religious Organization?
Religious discrimination complaints are more complicated when the employer has a religious affiliation, such as a school or college operated by a Christian denomination. Some religiously affiliated schools require employees to sign a statement promising to abide by the teachings of the denomination. Others might have a different set of rules for employees who belong to the denomination from the rules that employees who are not members of the denomination must follow. The employment discrimination lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can help you figure out if your employer acted within its rights as a religiously affiliated institution or whether it discriminated against you.
Exercising Your Rights If You Experience Religious Discrimination
If you experience discrimination based on your religious beliefs or religious affiliation, you have the right to sue your employer for discrimination and to request compensation for the financial losses you suffered as a result of the adverse actions that your employer took against you based on a protected characteristic. It is not as simple as going to court and filing a lawsuit after your coworkers make derogatory comments about your religion or after your employer passes you over for another promotion, though. The courts of Montana will only consider employment discrimination lawsuits if the plaintiff has fulfilled the prerequisites. This means that you should get official permission to sue before you can file your lawsuit with the court.
As soon as you experience religious discrimination at work, you should contact an employment discrimination lawyer, who will help you prepare for a meeting with the Montana Human Rights Bureau or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). You have the right to represent yourself in your dealings with the Bureau or the EEOC, but your chances of getting a favorable result are better if you work with an employment lawyer. You may contact just one of these entities to start, or you may make appointments with both of them in the same week. After hearing your evidence that your employer’s actions were discriminatory, the Bureau or the EEOC will begin an investigation. If it finds that your claims are credible and that they fit the definition of employment discrimination, it will authorize you to proceed with your lawsuit. When you file the lawsuit, you should attach the written authorization from the EEOC or the Bureau.
Contact HKM Employment Attorneys About Religious Discrimination
The Bozeman employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP, can give you advice about filing a religious discrimination complaint against your employer. Contact the employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP in Bozeman, Montana, to set up a consultation.
