New York Employment Lawyer Blog

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.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. over alleged discrimination against a former employee because of his Iranian origin and Muslim faith, according to a court filing Tuesday.

Merrill Lynch discriminated against Majid Borumand by failing to promote him and then terminating his employment because of his national origin and faith, the commission alleged in its complaint, filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan.

Mr. Borumand, who was a quantitative analyst at Merrill, was the object of a number of remarks that reflected animosity toward his origin and faith, the complaint alleged.

Continue reading "EEOC Sues Merrill Lynch for Discrimination" »

Two former employees of the University of Texas at Arlington have filed suit in federal district court claiming that they are the victims of religious discrimination after being dismissed by the University. According to the lawsuit, last March, after learning that a male employee was having problems with a female co-worker, the two employees stayed after work to pray for the woman-- who was on vacation. They met at her office cubicle, prayed for her, and-- in the religious tradition of one of them-- dabbed olive oil on the door frame of the cubicle. The University, saying that it has been upheld by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said: "praying, shouting and/or chanting over a co-workers personal and professional belongings without her knowledge and consent constitutes harassment of a fellow co-worker. In addition, rubbing this co-worker's cubicle with oil is blatant disregard for university property, both of which are identified as behavior that is grounds for dismissal."