Religious Discrimination

Every employee has the right to exercise his or her religion without discrimination and harassment. Employees have the right to practice and observe their religious, ethical, or moral beliefs free from conflict between their employment responsibilities and their religious beliefs, needs, and practices.

Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) make it illegal for an employer to treat an employee differently because of his or her religion. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of his/her religion in hiring, firing, discipline, distribution of benefits, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other condition of employment. The law protects not only people who belong to major organized religions like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs.

Los Angeles religious discrimination attorney Afshin Mozaffari has a comprehensive understanding of California employment law and can provide guidance to you about your legal protections.

Religious discrimination can come in many forms. Here are some examples:

• Your employer conditions your promotion on your willingness to attend church.
• Your employer prohibits you from wearing head coverings or other religious dress (such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf) at work.
• Your employer sets work schedules that prohibit you from your participation in daily prayers.
• You are mocked at work because of your sincerely held religious beliefs.
• You are fired after having missed work to observe a religious holiday.
• You are terminated because your boss does not like the fact that you are married to someone who is Muslim.
• You are fired because of your religion.

Employers must also reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

A reasonable religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that allows employees to practice their religion or sincerely held ethical or moral beliefs. Flexible scheduling, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and modifications to workplace policies or practices are common examples of religious accommodations.

This is just a sampling of what religious accommodations may be available to you. An employer may refuse to accommodate an employee’s request if the accommodation is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work. It is important to remember that this area of the law can be complex and nuanced, which is why it is important to speak with an attorney who is experienced in employment discrimination law and who can help you navigate how the laws work to protect you.

Mozaffari Law is dedicated to advancing and protecting the religious rights of employees in the workplace. Los Angeles religious discrimination attorney Afshin Mozaffari has extensive experience and success litigating religious discrimination cases. If you believe you are being discriminated against because of your religion, contact Mozaffari Law at 323.696.0702 or Info@mozaffarilaw.comfor a confidential consultation.