Employer's Duty to Accommodate Religion Not Unlimited

By Linda Coady, ESQ., Andrews Publications
A company is not required to grant all requests to accommodate an employee's religion and may legally fire a worker for violating attendance policies to observe religious holidays, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected a worker's religious discrimination claims, concluding that Firestone Fibers & Textiles Co. reasonably accommodated his religious beliefs. According to the opinion, David Wise started working in Firestone's North Carolina testing laboratory in 1994. The company required at least one person to work in the lab when certain fabric was being treated. In 2001 Wise joined the Living Church of God, which he said prohibits members from working during the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. He also said he could not work on seven sets of religious holidays, totaling 20 days a year. Read more...

Posted by Editor at March 22, 2008 01:43 PM