Drastic Increase in Workplace Religious Discrimination Lawsuits
The number of EEOC lawsuits claiming workplace religious discrimination have increased by nearly 50% in recent years, illustrating that employers may not be adequately prepared to deal with the law regarding religion in the workplace.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 2,541 charges of religious discrimination in 2006. 2,387 religious discrimination charges were resolved, and the EEOC recovered $5.7 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals, not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation.
Employees are protected from religious discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law which covers employers who have 15 or more employees.
One of the criticisms against Title VII is the vagueness of its compliance requirements. Many employers are left wondering what exactly an undue hardship is as far as respecting their employee’s religious rights, and are often confused about what to do when it comes to employees who feel that actively trying to recruit others into their religion is a right they should have.
Bookmark: 
