EEOC addresses religious discrimination

HR Magazine, Sept, 2008 by Kathy Gurchiek

Rising religious discrimination charges, increasing religious diversity in the United States and requests for guidance prompted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue a new Compliance Manual Section under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The guidance addresses such issues as what constitutes religion under Title VII, disparate treatment based on religion, the requirement to reasonably accommodate religious beliefs and practices, and religion-based harassment and retaliation. It also addresses balancing employee rights to religious expression with employers' need to maintain efficient workplaces.

The number of filings by workers in the private sector charging religious discrimination has more than doubled in the past 15 years, from 1,388 in fiscal 1992 to 2,880 in fiscal 2007, according to the EEOC.

The agency doesn't know for sure the reason for the increase, EEOC spokeswoman Christine Nazer said.

"We can only guess. Some of the reasons we think this may be happening may be due to a more diverse workforce throughout the country. Diversity is not just race and gender, and that may be contributing to the [filings] increase," she said.

The EEOC has issued a question-and-answer sheet on the guidance and a booklet on best practices online at www.eeoc.gov.