Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed against a Pennsylvania debt collection agency alleging failure to provide a religious accommodation under Title VII. The suit claimed that the employer had refused to allow the employee unpaid time away from work after he failed to provide certification from a religious leader or religious organization demonstrating that the request was a legitimate requirement of his professed religion. The employee resigned after informing the employer that he was not a member of any congregation and therefore could not provide the requested documentation.
In addition to paying $60,000, the employer agreed not to require certifications as a prerequisite to granting religious accommodations. The EEOC stated that if an employee has a sincerely held religious belief, they are entitled to accommodation even if the belief cannot be verified by a third party.
Where does this position leave employers that question the legitimacy or sincerity of an employee’s purported religious beliefs? For example, an employee who requests vacation time for a beach trip is denied, then requests the same time off for religious observation purposes. While Title VII only applies to sincerely held religious beliefs, those beliefs do not need to come from a formally organized religious denomination, nor do they have to involve a particular kind of spirituality. In most cases, employers will need to take the employee at his or her word with regard to their belief system. The decision whether or not to grant the accommodation should focus on the hardship created to the business. By concluding that the employee’s requested accommodations are not legitimate or sincere, the employer opens itself to legal claims and potential damages awards.
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