Protecting Religious Rights in the Workplace

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The employees’ rights in the workplace are protected by a number of laws or Acts. These would include, but are not limited to, Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, 2008.

There is also a law safeguarding the religious principles of employees that is contained under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As it would be observed, followers of different religions practice their worship through various actions and rituals. These varied characteristics, however, have always offered suitable grounds for disagreements in the work place.

This is likely to occur in situations where employees feel their rights to religion are not accorded the rightful respect in regard with the law. The title requires employers to recognize and respect the religious beliefs of their employees. This Act further protects workers from any form of workplace discrimination which may occur on grounds of race, national origin and identity, color, and gender, among other significant aspects.

The relevance of this specific Act in safeguarding the religious rights of employees cannot be overestimated. Religion is arguably one of the most sensitive aspects of life that are known to play a very significant role in today’s society. Nothing can stand between an individual and their religion, and in that case, there is no way one can be influenced to go against the demands of their religious faith (Farris, 2007).

It is basically owing to this kind of sensitivity why people should be given the freedom to fully practice their religion observances. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is significant in that it gives employees the opportunity to exercise their religious beliefs without being victimized by their employers.

Some good examples of religious practices which may require accommodation are practices involving dress and other habits of personal grooming that workers would have for religious reasons. This may include, for instance, wearing of headscarf and yarmulke by the Muslim and the Jewish followers, respectively.

This can also include a worker’s religious observance that they should not wear certain types of garments, such and trousers and miniskirts (Cascio, 1992). This Act is important in that, it reminds employers of their duty to recognize and accommodate the religion stand of their employees. This promotes understanding of one another in the workplace, thus promoting good employer-worker relations.

Regardless of the many benefits associated with this Act, it can also trigger serious workplace implications. One potential ethical concern likely to arise from this Act is employer-employee misunderstandings. While it is not logical for employers to deny their employees the freedom to religion, it would be impossible for them to comply with every detail that has been provided under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Flynn, 1995).

Employers cannot entertain a situation whereby religion matters of their workers become a trade-off for their performance and productivity. This is most likely to result to cases of misunderstandings between employers and their staff, thus necessitating ill work relations between the two. This can further lead to serious implications in the workplace, such as lowered productivity and profitability.

Lack of adequate understanding, proper handling, and effective management of this legal issue can trigger serious implications for managers and organizations (Cash and Gray, 2000). For instance, poor performances and productivity would be a big likelihood where employees’ right to religious observances are denied.

Being accommodative to religious activities of employees is an effective approach that can be used to boost workers’ morale in the workplace. However, denying workers this special right does not only kill their motivation spirit, but it also generates serious workplace complexities.

Moreover, the requirement for employers to accommodate religious matters of their workers provides ample ground for many unethical practices. A good example here is where employees end up taking unnecessary times off from work in the name of religion observances, thus leading to poor performances and productivity.

Whereby religion in workplace may sometimes be a matter controversy, managers should always try to remain in good terms with their employees. One way of achieving this is by being respective and accommodative to employees’ religious practices (Colquitt, 2009). Managers should be willing to change work schedules and programmes to accommodate religious observances of their workers.

Also, managers should ensure they understand the requirements of this legal aspect, to avoid scenarios where employees misuse them for other intentions. Matters of religion in workplace can be a complex issue, and in that case, managers can seek legal advice on how to go about them.

Managers can also read Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to get a better understanding of this Act. Other useful sources of information pertaining to this legal issue can be found in worship centers representing different religions.

References

Cash, K., & Gray, G. (2000). A framework for accommodating religion and spirituality in the workplace. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 124-133.

Cascio, W. (1992). Managing human resources. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Colquitt, J. (2009). Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Farris, M. (2007). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Geo. J. Gender & L., 9(8), 543.

Flynn, K. (1995). Religious Harassment under Title VII: Incentive for a Religion-Free Workplace or a Protection for Religious Liberty. Ohio NUL Rev., 22(7), 501- 504.

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Protecting Religious Rights in the Workplace

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