Civil Rights: Fact Sheets
Oregon Law
ORS 659A.030 makes it unlawful for any Oregon employer to
discriminate against an individual in hiring, termination or any terms
and conditions of employment on the basis of religion, unless such
discrimination results from a bona fide occupational requirement
reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the employer´s
business. ORS 659A.006(2) excepts bona fide churches or sectarian
religious institutions such as schools, hospitals and church camps.
These institutions may prefer an employee of one religious sect over
another when:
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The employee or applicant belongs to the same religious
sect as that of the institution.
In the opinion of the church or institution, such preference
will best serve the church´s purposes.
The employment involved is closely connected to primary
purposes of the church and is not connected with a
business activity that has no necessary relationship to the
religious purposes of the church or the institution.
Federal Law
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Sections 701 and 702) prohibits
religious discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees.
Federal law also provides exceptions for religious and educational
institutions.
Religious Accommodation
When the employee or applicant has a sincerely held religious belief,
the employer must reasonably accommodate that belief, unless such
accommodation would cause undue hardship to the company.
Undue hardship for religious accommodations is evaluated according to
a "de minimis" standard.
"De Minimis" Standard for Undue Hardship
The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that an employer is not
obligated to accommodate an individual´s religious belief if it would
require "more than a de minimis cost." The Court also found that
neither the employer nor the union would have to violate the provisions
of a valid collective bargaining agreement in order to accommodate an
individual´s religious belief. Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, 432 US
63, 14 FEP 1697 (1977) Oregon has since adopted this standard.
Sincerely Held Beliefs
A religious belief is considered to be sincerely held if the individual can
demonstrate a strict adherence to the belief. An individual claiming to
believe that he or she should not work on a particular day of the week
for religious observancemay not have a sincerely held belief if it could
be demonstrated that the person routinely accepts work on that day
without protest. However, such a belief might still be protected by law
if the individual had experienced a change in his or her religious beliefs
on a date after work on that day had been performed.
Reasonable Accommodation
Once an employee or applicant has articulated an employment problem
based on a conflict with a sincerely held religious belief, the employer
must try to make a reasonable accommodation to the individual´s
religious needs. There is no prescribed manner in which an employer is
required to accommodate the employee. Employers should consider all
possibilities as they apply to their own business requirements.
Example: If an employee´s religion prohibits him or her from working
on Fridays, the employer is required, absent an undue hardship, to
arrange the schedule so that the employee would not have to work on
that day.
In examining the possibilities of accommodation, the courts have
considered the following areas:
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The nature of the job; whether it is special or unique.
The number of employees who can do that job.
The size of the establishment (larger establishments would
have more possibilities for accommodating an individual).
The effects of transferring the employee.
The effects of accommodation on other employees; union
contract agreements (whether seniority provisions will be
violated).
Scheduling and overtime problems.
Undue Hardship
When an employer is unable to accommodate an individual´s religious
belief without undue hardship to the business, the employer is not
required to make accommodation. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission guidelines specify three areas that can constitute undue
hardship:
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Business necessity
Financial cost to the employer
Resulting personnel problems
Dissension or dissatisfaction of co-workers is rarely enough to cause an
undue hardship. In such situations, the courts have looked to see if the
employer has done everything possible to minimize the problems.