The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) maintains and periodically updates a Compliance Manual, an internal guide for EEOC enforcement personnel that contains the EEOC’s interpretation of Title VII and the other discrimination laws it enforces. Although the Compliance Manual does not have the force of law, it is a very helpful resource for employees and employers as it explains the EEOC’s approach to enforcing the discrimination laws. It also contains recommendations for employees on how to identify discrimination in the workplace and address it, as well as best practices to help employers to prevent discrimination.
The EEOC recently issued an
updated section of the Compliance Manual on religious discrimination. According to the
EEOC’s
press release accompanying the new section, it issued the new section “in response
to an increase in charges of religious discrimination, increased religious
diversity in the United States, and requests for guidance from stakeholders
and agency personnel investigating and litigating claims of religious
discrimination.”
The new section contains a wealth of information on religious discrimination
in employment, including material on:
• Avoiding religious discrimination in hiring, promotion and other
employment decisions • Employer liability for religious harassment
• Accommodating employees’ religious beliefs and practices
in the workplace • Retaliation • Exemptions for religious-based
institutions
The Compliance Manual also contains a number of employee best practices
intended to instruct employees on the best ways to advise employers of
their religious practices, how to resolve conflicts between those practices
and work rules, and how to handle discussions about religious faith and
proselytizing in the workplace.
Although the new section is long and extremely detailed, both employers and employees would be well served to read through it and lean how to avoid religious discrimination in the workplace and to deal with it once it occurs.