In The Workplace

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against existing and potential employees on the basis of religion, among other things. Many states have their own nondiscrimination laws that extend this prohibition to all employers, regardless of size.

This protection against religious discrimination goes beyond hiring and firing employees and extends to discrimination in advancement decisions, work assignments, and pay. An employer also runs afoul of Title VII if it either fosters or knowingly permits a work environment which is hostile toward employees as a result of their religious beliefs.

A hostile work environment is a workplace in which discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult are pervasive.

Beyond the protections of Title VII, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents federal, state, and local government agencies, when acting as an employer, from promoting particular religious beliefs, or from imposing religious requirements on employees.

While a public employer cannot promote a religious point of view, it is limited in its ability to restrict the content of conversations between co-workers. However, a co-worker’s discussion of religious topics could be so disruptive that it creates a hostile work environment. If the government employer permitted such behavior it would be in violation of Title VII, which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of religion, among other things. As a consequence, a government employer can take action to prevent an employee from continuing to discuss religion in ways which disrupt the office.

If you work for a government agency and are bring subjected to religious practices or incessant proselytizing from supervisors or coworkers, please contact our team for help.

Some employers are exempt from Title VII’s anti-discrimination requirements.

The law expressly exempts religious employers, defined to include any “religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society,” from the provisions prohibiting religious discrimination. While a religious employer is still bound to abide by Title VII with regard to an employee’s race, color, sex, and national origin, it can show a preference for employees and applicants that share the organization’s religious beliefs.

Furthermore, if the job is “ministerial” in nature, the Supreme Court’s current understanding of the First Amendment precludes the government for enforcing any nondiscrimination law against the religious employer.

Exactly which positions qualify as “ministerial” depends heavily on the unique circumstances of each position but the courts have been highly deferential to religious employers in answering this question.