Religious Accommodation

Good Friday is right around the corner.  That day will always serve as a reminder to me of the event forever referred to as The Employee Mutiny of 2011.  In 2011, I upset a few employees by converting the Good Friday Holiday to a floating holiday.  Yes, change is difficult, no matter how small the change.  But with proper communication the employees came to understand that they didn't lose the day, it was just handled a bit differently. 

 

Religious discrimination by employers is expressly prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although employers don't have to satisfy an employee's every desire in accommodating his/her religious beliefs, employers are required to make "reasonable accommodations." The most common such accommodation is granting an employee time off to observe a religious holiday.

 

My goal in converting this to a floating holiday was to allow other employees, with different religious beliefs, to have a holiday for their use.  As any organization grows, you want to be able to recognize all religions.  (Another basic step is to modify the vacation/PTO policy to reflect the use of available vacation time for religious holidays not normally recognized by the company.)

 

We live in a beautiful and diverse world!  There's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the feasts for Santeria.  We have Hindu holidays, Muslim holidays and even Pagan holidays.  Employers and HR professionals all struggle with how to celebrate them, how to recognize the diversity of these religious beliefs and practices.  With care, communication and understanding, the process is easy!