Equal Employment Opportunity and HRM

February 17, 2020

Discussion: Equal Employment Opportunity and HRM

1. How do you think the European case discussed in the video report would be decided in the United States? Why? Explain and support your answer.

The decision made by the European jury to forbid or ban religious signs without distinction would not pass if the ruling were held in the United States. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that employers must accommodate religious practices of its employees (“Anti-Defamation League,” 2012). With this law, as long as it does not cause “undue hardship on the employer,” the employer must accommodate to employees’ religious practices. This includes wearing religious garments, symbols, etc.

2. Select a category (age, race, religion, marital status, criminal/incarceration history, pregnancy, sex, sexual identity, education level, parenthood, national origin, dress, economic status, military status, and so forth).

Religion.

3. In the United States, how are individuals in the category that you selected protected from discrimination in employment? Be specific. Give examples.

As stated above, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees’ religious rights in the workplace. It also prohibits employers from discriminating them in regards to “hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment, (“Anti-Defamation League,” 2012). For example, certain religions may require certain days of the year off due to religious practices. Employers must make an attempt to accommodate this request by an employee through various means such as switching days off with another individual, etc. But again, an employer does not have to accommodate to an employee’s religious requests if it would result in undue hardship or if it would cost money for business operations (Gepp, 2018). I’ve been fortunate enough to have good supervisors in my career who’ve accommodated to my religious requirements, such as allowing me to take leave during certain days or allowing me to leave early to prepare for a special religious event. However, I do understand that there are times when it is in the best interest of the military to not accommodate, such as during real-world missions and such.

4. For the category you have selected, how are U.S. protections different from or similar to protections in another country (You choose the country to make the comparison).

Compared to the U.S. in terms of religious accommodations in the workplace, Saudi Arabia is in the other side of the spectrum. Saudi Arabia is a political monarchy and its “national policies do not legally recognize or protect religious freedom, (Collins, 2019). Other than Islam, the country prohibits any form of religious practice or expression. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s governing legal system is known as shariah law, which is rooted in Islamic law. Under this law, judges are allowed to make rulings based on their own conscience in “determining the will of God,” (Collins, 2019). I can attest to this first-hand since I was deployed to a base in the country years ago. We did practice our own worship services, however, it was in secret and we were constantly on the lookout for anyone who may notice, even though those gatherings were held inside the base.

References

Anti-Defamation League. (2012). Religious accommodation in the workplace: Your rights and obligations. Retrieved from https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/civil-rights/religiousfreedom/religfreeres/ReligAccommodWPlace-docx.pdf

Collins, E. (2019, March). Religious Discrimination in International Employment Law. Retrieved from https://thelawreviews.co.uk/edition/the-employment-law-review-edition-10/1188877/religious-discrimination-in-international-employment-law

Gepp, R. (2018, January 7). Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: Guidance for Avoiding Legal Trouble. Retrieved from https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2017/05/23/religious-accommodation-workplace-guidance-avoiding-legal-trouble/