The information contained in this fact sheet is provided for educational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

Which laws protect me from workplace discrimination and harassment?

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What is a reasonable accommodation?

• TitleVIIalsorequiresthatemployersprovidewhat’scalleda“reasonableaccommodation” toan employee’s religiouspractices, unlessdoing sowouldcausean“unduehardship”totheemployer’sbusiness.Asaresult,employersmaybelegallyrequiredtomakeadjustmentsandchangestotheworkplacesothatanemployeecanpracticehisorherfaith.

• Religious accommodations can take many different forms. Commonexamples include scheduling changes, reassigning jobtasks/responsibilities,andmodifyingworkplacepoliciesandpractices.

• Whatconstitutesareasonableaccommodationisdeterminedonacase-by-casebasis.Butcourtshaveregularlyruledinfavorofemployeeswhohavebeendeniedsuchaccommodations.Forexample,theU.S.SupremeCourtrecentlyruledinfavorofaMuslimwomanwhowasdeniedajobataretailerbecauseherhijabconflictedwiththeemployer’sdresscode.TheSupremeCourtmadeclearthatitwouldnothavebeenanunduehardshipfor the employer to have provided the woman with a religiousaccommodation.

• Generally, individualsshouldnotifytheiremployeriftheyareseekingareligiousaccommodation. Insomesituations, itmaybeappropriate forthe employer to ask for more information from the individual todeterminewhattheproperaccommodationshouldbe.

AsAmericanMuslimsobservetheholymonthofRamadan,manymaywishtoseekadjustmentsfromtheiremployersinordertoaccommodatetheirreligiouspractices.Civilrightslawsprovideanumberofprotectionstoensurethatnoonesuffersworkplacediscriminationbecauseoftheir religious beliefs. Employers are also generally required to provide “reasonableaccommodation”totheiremployeessotheycanengageinreligiouspractices.Thisfactsheetdetailsyourreligiousrightsintheworkplaceandwhattodoifyoubelieveyourrightshavebeenviolated.

KnowYourRightsThisRamadan:ReligiousRightsintheWorkplace

• Federal law: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”)generally prohibits an employer from discriminating against anindividualbecauseoftheirrace,color,religion,nationalorigin,orsex.

o Thismeansthatitisillegalforanemployerwith15employeesormoretohire,fire,orotherwisechangethetermsandconditionsofaperson’semploymentbecauseoftheirreligion,nationalorigin,race,oranyotherprotectedcategory.

o TitleVIIalsoprotectsworkersfrombeingharassedonthejob;italsoprohibitsindividualsfrombeingretaliatedagainstwhentheycomplainaboutworkplacediscrimination.

o TitleVIIprotectsjobapplicants(aswellasemployees),butitonlyappliestoemployerswithatleast15employees.

• Stateandlocallaw:Thevastmajorityofstates–andmanycitiesandothermunicipalities–havetheirownlawsthatprovideprotectionsforworkers. While many of these laws mirror Title VII, a number offeradditional protections (e.g., covering workplaces with less than 15employees,shieldingadditionalclassesofworkers).Youshouldbesuretochecktoseewhetherthestateormunicipalityinwhichyouliveoffersanyoftheseadditionalprotections.

The information contained in this fact sheet is provided for educational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

What is an undue hardship?

• If providing a religious accommodation would cause an employer anundue hardship, an employer is not legally required to make themodification.Whetheranaccommodationcausesanunduehardshipisdecidedonacase-by-casebasis.

• Factorsconsideredinevaluatingan“unduehardship”includethecostoftheaccommodation,iftheaccommodationwouldjeopardizeworkplacesafety or efficiency, and to what extent the accommodation wouldinfringeontherightsofotheremployees.

• What constitutes an undue hardship is determined on a case-by-casebasis.Forexample,supposeanemployeewishestotakeseveralshortbreaks during the workday in order to pray. In order to determinewhether it would be an undue hardship on the employer toaccommodatetherequest,acourtwouldconsiderthefollowingfactors:thelengthandfrequencyoftheprayerbreaks,whetherthereareotheremployeeswhocouldeasilyfill-induringthebreaks,andwhethertheemployerwouldhave to train those employees that could fill-in (andhowmuchthatwouldcost).

What is unlawful religious harassment?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 generally

prohibits employers from discriminating against an individual on the basis of their race,

color, religion, national origin, or sex.

• Employersmustmaintainaworkplacefreefromreligiousharassment.As such, it is unlawful for employers with at least 15 employees torequireorcoercetheiremployeestochangeorabandontheirreligiouspracticewhileintheworkplace.

• Annoyances,teasing,and/orisolatedincidentstypicallyarenotenoughtoproveareligiousharassmentclaim.However,ifthereisapatternortrend of such behavior—and an employer fails to take correctiveaction—thatcouldcreatea“hostileworkenvironment,”whichcouldviolatefederallaw.

• Employershavebeenfoundliableforfailingtocorrectharassmentbyanindividual’ssupervisors,co-workers,and,insomecases,evenclientsorcustomers.

• Inonerecentcase,acompanywassuedforworkplaceharassmentaftersupervisors and other seniormanagement subjected an employee toalmost-daily derogatory comments about his Islamic faith, nationalorigin,andskincolor.Thecompanysettledthecasebyagreeingtopaytheemployee$40,000,agreeingtoanumberofchangestothecompany’spolicies,andprovidinganti-harassmenttrainingtomanagers.

What is retaliation?

• Title VII also prohibits retaliation. As such, an employer cannot takeactionsagainstyoubecauseyouhavecomplainedaboutdiscriminationorharassmentintheworkplace.

• A broad range of conduct is protected by Title VII’s anti-retaliationprovision, including filing a formal complaint of discrimination,threatening to file a complaint, and speaking against discrimination(experiencedbyyourselforothers).

The information contained in this fact sheet is provided for educational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

If you have been discriminated against at your job, please contact Muslim Advocates through our website (www.muslimadvocates.org) or call us at

202-897-1897.

What should you do to protect your rights in the workplace?

• Knowyourrights.Inmanysituations,employersarerequiredtomakesurethatyoudonotsufferdiscriminationorharassmentintheworkplace and that you are providedwith reasonable accommodations. You have the right towork in an environment that is fullycompliantwiththelaw,andemployersareprohibitedfromtakingactionsagainstyoubecauseyouassertyourrights.

• Ifnecessary,requestareligiousaccommodation.Employersmustprovidereasonableaccommodations,unlessdoingsowouldcauseanundueburden.Speakwithyouremployerifyoubelievethatyouneedamodificationtoyourworkconditionssothatyoucanpracticeyourfaith.

• Consultalawyer.Ifyoubelieveyourrightsmayhavebeenviolated,alawyercanprovideadditionalinformationandadvice,andcanrecommendstepstotaketorectifythesituation.

• FileaChargeofDiscrimination.TheU.S.EqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission(“EEOC”)isafederalagencythatinvestigatesclaimsofworkplacediscrimination.Ifyoubelieveyourrightshavebeenviolated,youcanfileacomplaintwiththeEEOC.Manystatesandmunicipalitieshavesimilaragencieswhereyoucanalsofilesuchcomplaints.Beadvisedthattherearestricttimelimitsforfilingsuchcomplaints.