Accommodating the Faithful
By
Joseph Shelton
(Labor Letter, March 2008)
A recent case from the Eleventh Circuit reminds us that navigating the minefield of religious accommodation issues can be difficult but manageable. Cynthia Morrissette-Brown is a Seventh-Day Adventist who claimed that her employer did not reasonably accommodate her "deep religious convictions" which prevented her from working Friday or Saturday shifts. The employer ultimately prevailed by showing that it had a neutral rotating shift system and that it provided Ms. Morrissette-Brown the opportunity to swap shifts with her co-workers. Morrissette-Brown v. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
What's Involved
The basic framework of religious accommodation cases requires the employee to prove: 1) a genuinely held religious belief; 2) that the employer was notified of that belief; and 3) a request for an accommodation of that belief. The burden then shifts to the employer to prove that its failure to accommodate the request was necessary because doing so would create an undue hardship.
There are three general rules to remember when faced with a request for an accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs. First, no matter how strange a particular "belief" may seem to you, courts have been extremely reticent to find an individual's religious beliefs are phony. Do not simply ignore a request even if you have questions about the sincerity of the belief.
Second, just saying "no" is a recipe for disaster. While the law does not mandate that you honor the employee's most desirable accommodation, a good faith effort to accommodate is required and open dialogue is encouraged.
Third, each request for religious accommodation will turn on the specific facts. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for these situations. Sometimes even small differences in facts can lead to substantially different outcomes. If you have questions or concerns about an employee's request for religious accommodation, give us a call.
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