APRIL 21, 2003

BUSINESS
Religious discrimination complaints spike

More workers are expressing and practicing their spiritual beliefs at work - something many experts say can be good for business. At the same time, workplaces are becoming more religiously diverse. The result? The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that complaints of religious discrimination on the job jumped 21 percent in 2002 - and a whopping 85 percent over the last decade. Last year's increase was largely due to backlash from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but complaints also result from supervisors and co-workers sharing their faith or wearing religious clothing.

How are these tensions playing out in local businesses, particularly ones with diverse workforces? Are employers coming up with innovative programs to help workers understand and respect each other's beliefs and ways of practicing them? Are lawsuits being filed? What do employers and employees say are the benefits of integrating spirituality with work, and how do they encourage that? What are the limits? How do businesses accommodate workers' prayer times and sabbaths in a 24/7 business world?

Why it matters
Years ago, people tended to leave their faith at the office door, but that attitude is changing. Whether clashes occur between supervisors and subordinates or among co-workers, the responsibility ultimately becomes the employer's. Workplace religious studies are proliferating. Numerous books advocate enhancing work spiritually. Employees are asserting their rights to wear religiously mandated apparel and to work schedules that accommodate their worship times. Meanwhile, employers struggle with how far they need to go to accommodate workers' religious needs while running an efficient business.

Jump to background

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National sources
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that backlash from 9/11 most likely contributed to the increase in religious discrimination complaints. But the main reason is an increase in diversity in the workplace, and the most prevalent complaint filed is failure to provide reasonable accommodation for a worker to practice his or her religious beliefs - most often a change in schedule to permit worship or prayer. Facts about religious discrimination are listed here and here. Field offices are listed here. Contact 202-663-4900.
• The American Religious Identification Survey, conducted under the auspices of The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, tracks shifts in proportions of the U.S. religious makeup. Key findings include that the proportion of the population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86 percent in 1990 to 77 percent in 2001.
• The Pluralism Project, based at Harvard University, posts news briefs about post-9/11 backlash/bias in the workplace and tracks business/workplace news articles concerning religion and the workplace. Affiliated researcher Douglas Hicks is author of Religion and the Workplace: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership (Cambridge University; forthcoming in 2003); contact him at 617-496-6495, dhicks@hds.harvard.edu. For Pluralism Project staff, contact 617-496-2481, staff@pluralism.org.
• Bruce N. Cameron is an attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and specializes in religious liberty cases involving employees who have religious objections to joining unions or to financially supporting specific social policies of the unions. Contact 800-336-3600, 703-321-8510 or bnc@nrtw.org, or contact Dan Cronin, director of legal information, also at 800-336-3600, 703-321-8510, or djc@nrtw.org.
• Pat Korten is vice president for communications at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a bipartisan public-interest law firm that protects the free expression of all religious traditions. The Becket Fund is based in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-955-0095, pkorten@becketfund.org.
• Mathew D. Staver is president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a civil liberties education and legal defense organization specializing in freedom of speech and religious freedom and based in Orlando, Fla. Contact 407-875-2100, liberty@lc.org.
• Richard Barrett speaks to groups about how bringing spirituality into the workplace can improve business achievement. Contact 828-452-5050, richard@corptools.com.

CHRISTIAN
• Gregory S. Baylor directs the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom and serves as chief litigation counsel for Religious Liberty Advocates. Contact 703-642-1070 x3502, gbaylor@clsnet.org.
• Alan E. Sears is president of and legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization that defends religious freedom. ADF is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Contact 1-800-TELL-ADF, asears@alliancedefensefund.org.
• Laurie Beth Jones of El Paso, Texas, is the author of Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership (Hyperion, 1996) and The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life (Hyperion, 1998). Contact 915-541-6033.
• The Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. Contact 202-789-1011, RCizik@nae.net.

JEWISH
• The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks discrimination based on religion, lists regional offices.
• Mark Stern co-directs the Commission on Law and Social Action of the American Jewish Congress in Washington, D.C., and chaired the committee that drafted Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace. Contact 212-879-4500, ext. 445, or mstern@ajcongress.org.

MUSLIM
• The Muslim Public Affairs Council tracks hate crimes. Contact hate crimes prevention coordinator Susan Attar at 213-383-3443, sattar@mpac.org.
• Hussein Ibish is communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which works to stop discrimination against Muslims. Contact 202-244-2990, adc@adc.org.
• Hodan Hassan is a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-488-8787, cell 202-439-1441 or hhassan@cair-net.org. CAIR's civil rights department tracks employment discrimination cases reported to the organization. The types of complaints received continue to include lack of religious accommodations (prayer, beard, headscarf) and job terminations. See a list of state and regional chapters.

SIKH
• Tejpal Singh Chawla is the civil rights counsel for Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force and a resource on discrimination against Sikhs in the workplace. Contact 202-744-0618, tejpal@sikhmediawatch.org.
• The Sikh Coalition and Amric Singh Rathour filed a federal lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department's policy against turbans. He was fired in 2001 from his traffic enforcement job for refusing orders to remove his turban and trim his beard, both of which are religiously mandated. Read the coalition's update page. Contact Ajeet Kaur, 917-612-4751, ajeet.kaur@sikhcoalition.org.

INTERFAITH
• Nancy Smith of Eastern Massachusetts runs WorkplaceSpirituality.info, a web site devoted to ways to integrate the spirituality of people of all faiths into the workplace. Her web site is a one-person ministry, an appointment by her United Methodist bishop; read an explanation. Contact 508-339-7620, nrsmith@attbi.com.

ATHEISTS
• Ellen Johnson is president of American Atheists, based in Parsippany, N.J. Contact 973-334-5110, info@atheists.org, or call national spokesman Ron Barrier at 718-967-6453.

Background
• Read a Jan. 17, 2003, Associated Press story posted by WorldWide Religious News on religious tensions in the workplace.
• Read Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
• Read former President Bill Clinton's 1995 memorandum on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace.
• Read a Nov. 30, 2002, WORLD Magazine article about how the law supports workers whose beliefs conflict with paying union dues.
• Read an Anti-Defamation League article about religious accommodation in the workplace.
• Read a May 12, 2002, Washington Post article about businesses that are developing ways to accommodate beliefs and values.
• Read a 2001 study by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding and the Society for Human Resource Management on growing religious diversity in the workplace.
• Read ReligiousTolerance.org's timeline of workplace religious discrimination legislative and court activity since 1977.