Term Paper on "Managing Religious Diversity in the Workplace"

Term Paper 11 pages (4595 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Managing Religious Diversity in the Workplace

Nowadays there is certainly an emergence of religion in the workplace, as this is a mixture of the increase in religious recognition with a growing eagerness of the people to reveal their religious beliefs outside their homes and places of worship. This has led to increased cases of religious harassment cases at work places. Harassment can be defined as being pulled out for ill treatment due to your religious affiliation and mainly if it makes it difficult to do your job. The occurrence of demands of religious harassment or differentiation is found to be rising according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - EEOC. A great deal of the rise signifies a reaction against Muslims and Sikhs as a result of the terrorist attacks of 2001. The paper shall look at court cases that show workplace harassment. Next the paper would focus on how managers/employers are dealing with religious differences/harassment in the workplace. A set of strategies for addressing such deliberations of religion in the workplace are being emphasized upon. Next we shall take a look at some company policies and practices in dealing with religious differences/harassment issues. Finally, the paper ends with arguing that permitting employees to stick to their religious faiths while safeguarding their fellow employees is essential for sustaining a productive workplace.

Managing religious diversity in the workplace

Introduction:

Since the U.S. workforce is radically more varied, the conventional legal notions of discrimination and harassment in relation to race, gender and other categories are mounting in consonance with the growing population. Probably none of such variation is evident in less preparedness than the recent growth in legal complaints associated with religion in the workplace. (Increasing Religious Diversity Poses New Challenges for Employers) the meeting point of our personal and professional lives is rarely problematic when compared to the area of religion. The liberty to follow one's religion is a basic belief of our democratic government. But certainly this liberty in daily life will overlie with work. For instance, a worker may like to exhibit a religious passage in his or her workspace, read the Bible or Koran at work, or may raise religious debate with co-workers, as another employee may talk about Bears or the White Sox. (My God's better than Your God: Religious Harassment in the Workplace) One must know the law about favoritism and pestering in matters of religion. Harassment can be defined as being pulled out for ill treatment due to your religious affiliation and mainly if it makes it difficult to do your job. (Religious Harassment in the Workplace)

An owner has an assenting compulsion to have a work atmosphere free of harassment, threats and frequent offense, under Title VII. It is worth mentioning that proselytizing may climb to the level of harassment. The employer's commitment expands to conditions where he or she knows of the harassment or has reason to know of it and does nothing to clear up the condition. The worker has a compulsion to inform his or her superior of the harassment, if the fellow employees are making an aggressive work atmosphere through religious harassment. The staff can register a complaint of favoritism against the employer, even if the harassment continues after giving notification to the superior. The Supreme Court held that harassment need not gravely have an effect on employee's psychological welfare in order to be difficult under Title VII so long as the atmosphere would sensibly be supposed, and is supposed, as aggressive or offensive. (Religious Accommodation in the Workplace)

How religion or religious harassment is becoming increasingly important to employees / managers:

In the United States, people persevere to declare a high level of religious faith and religious participation. As per the Gallup poll in 2003, 61% of the Americans reported that religion was a very significant part of their lives and an extra 24% said that it was rather essential. Traditionally, Americans' accepted other religious values as they were observed in private and were not encouraged by government or made part of citizens' requirement. But in the second half of the twentieth century, more and more of the public space is being taken by the religion. In the workplace there is certainly an emergence of religion, as this is a mixture of the increase in religious recognition with a growing eagerness of people to reveal their religious beliefs outside their homes and places of worship. (Religious Diversity in the workplace)

The occurrence of demands of religious harassment or favoritism is found to be rising. There has been a considerable increase in the number of objections of workplace harassment or expulsion due to religion, from 1388 in FY 1992 to 2572 in FY 2003, as per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - EEOC in Washington, D.C. (Harris, 2004) an increase of 85% is mentioned in the data given by the EEOC for religion-based accusations registered against employers for the period between 1992 and 2002. For the same period, cases for which sensible reasons was found enlarged by 285%, while cases with no sensible reasons enlarged by 145%. When compared to the development in the number of persons utilized from 1992 to 2002, the rise in charges seems to be more remarkable - 15.2%. (Workplace Religious Freedom: What is an Employer's Duty to Accommodate: A Review of Recent Cases?) a great deal of the rise signifies a reaction against Muslims and Sikhs as a result of the terrorist attacks of 2001. By the better knowledge of rights and the means for rectifying wrongs, some can be clarified. (Harris, 2004)

Harassment and expulsions are the religious discriminations against Muslims in the workplace. For instance, on December 6, 2003 the Washington Post gave details about an Arab-American waiter in Baltimore who was sent home from work because his name is Mohamed. A Trans State Airline pilot was dismissed only because of his religion. There are many harassment cases. Having a religious headscarf has earned consequences in the workplace for some Muslim women. Legal recompense has been sought after for various cases regarding the claim to this religious clothing: by a Pennsylvania policewoman who was banned from wearing hijab for work, by an applicant who was deprived of a uniformed airline job, and by an Arizona woman who was working for a rental car company. It is expected that women who wear headscarf and who submit an application for job face favoritism in employment, and much of these are not recorded. Along with the Muslims, the Sikh tradition has also been forced by religious prejudice in the work place, due to enlarged favoritism post-9/11 and the external evidence of religious clothing. There are many cases, which spin around men's turban or their untrimmed beards. Sikh women may also wrap their heads or wear a form of turban. Recently a long pending court case concerning Sikh Traffic Enforcement Agents in New York City was decided so that Sikh officers will not be dismissed for infringement of dress code. Subway drivers, cab drivers, policemen and attorneys are some of the Sikhs who are fighting for their birthright to wear turban while calling on their customers. (Harris, 2004)

As per the Sikh religion it is compulsory for them to carry a knife, which has been a matter for the employers. In a case told by the Sikh Coalition, an employer prohibited having this ceremonial knife, but information and interference from the Sikh coalition persuaded the employer to remove the ban. The dreadlocks that are a religiously authorized hairstyle for the Rastafarians have raised problems in the workplace. There have been legal actions created against FedEx for firings over dreadlocks, and Greyhound paid an amount of $33,500 to end favoritism in hiring case brought by a Rastafarian man in Buffalo, New York. He was deprived of a driving position due to his long dreadlocks, and lesser-qualified candidates occupied those positions. These cases ask for remedy more than the immoral to the specific person, but to alter the difficult corporate culture as well. Greyhound will have to instruct its hiring officials about laws barring employment favoritism and circulate anti-discrimination policies and grievance measures to all employees, as part of the compensation. Problems concerning Wiccans consist of a commotion over a Wiccan employed as a prison chaplain in Wisconsin. This person had earlier worked in this position as a volunteer and so had an established testimony of achievement as well as being the exceptional candidate. But her religious association brought hatred to many. (Harris, 2004)

Many religious harassment cases include managers or colleagues who humiliate an employee's religious attitude or custom through abuse or other disparagement behavior. Just like in the case of a suspected sexual or racial harassment, employers who know of such behavior and who do not take steps to prevent it are responsible for it. But gradually more and more employers are being asked to harmonize the requests of those who want to practice their devotion on the job with those of the employees who… READ MORE

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