March 2014 Newsletter
Some Good News!
As an employer you likely worry about discrimination lawsuits. After all, they have the potential to cost your company A TON of money!
However some relieving news came out of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the court that covers Kansas). The court recently issued an opinion stating the employee must speak up about religious accommodations before the employer has a duty to accommodate.
What Was the Case About?
An Abercrombie manager failed to hire an applicant because the applicant wore a black headscarf during the interview (the headscarf is called a hijab).
Abercrombie has a “look policy” that prohibits employees from wearing black clothing, and from wearing head coverings (basically the policy required employees to wear clothes similar to those sold in the store).
However, during the interview neither the manager nor the applicant discussed the hijab, or religious beliefs. The manager testified that she believed the applicant was qualified to work for Abercrombie, but shouldn’t be hired because wearing the headscarf was inconsistent with the company’s “look policy.” The manager also testified that she believed the applicant was Muslim, but didn’t know for sure.
The district court ruled in favor of the applicant, and a jury awarded a $20,000 verdict.
However, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s ruling because the applicant must initially provide the employer with explicit notice of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation.
In fact, had the employer asked about the applicants religious beliefs THEN they would have violated the applicants Title VII rights.
Take Away
The Bad:
Although the employer won, they still had to go to court.
The Good:
As long as an employee does not inform you of the conflict, you are safe and there is good case law to support you!
Other Notes:
If you think an employee may have a conflict, but they have not told you so, do not go prying into their religious beliefs! This could get you into more trouble than not doing anything, even if your intentions are purely to help them out!
Also, once an employee has told you about a conflict, the only way to not accommodate is if the accommodation would be an “undue hardship” to your company. This is a legal term, and you will want to get some advice before just assuming that is the road you want to go down.
Human Resource Solutions will be glad to answer any questions you may have regarding this, or any other, employment issue you are having. Contact Us!
As an employer you likely worry about discrimination lawsuits. After all, they have the potential to cost your company A TON of money!
However some relieving news came out of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the court that covers Kansas). The court recently issued an opinion stating the employee must speak up about religious accommodations before the employer has a duty to accommodate.
What Was the Case About?
An Abercrombie manager failed to hire an applicant because the applicant wore a black headscarf during the interview (the headscarf is called a hijab).
Abercrombie has a “look policy” that prohibits employees from wearing black clothing, and from wearing head coverings (basically the policy required employees to wear clothes similar to those sold in the store).
However, during the interview neither the manager nor the applicant discussed the hijab, or religious beliefs. The manager testified that she believed the applicant was qualified to work for Abercrombie, but shouldn’t be hired because wearing the headscarf was inconsistent with the company’s “look policy.” The manager also testified that she believed the applicant was Muslim, but didn’t know for sure.
The district court ruled in favor of the applicant, and a jury awarded a $20,000 verdict.
However, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s ruling because the applicant must initially provide the employer with explicit notice of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation.
In fact, had the employer asked about the applicants religious beliefs THEN they would have violated the applicants Title VII rights.
Take Away
The Bad:
Although the employer won, they still had to go to court.
The Good:
As long as an employee does not inform you of the conflict, you are safe and there is good case law to support you!
Other Notes:
If you think an employee may have a conflict, but they have not told you so, do not go prying into their religious beliefs! This could get you into more trouble than not doing anything, even if your intentions are purely to help them out!
Also, once an employee has told you about a conflict, the only way to not accommodate is if the accommodation would be an “undue hardship” to your company. This is a legal term, and you will want to get some advice before just assuming that is the road you want to go down.
Human Resource Solutions will be glad to answer any questions you may have regarding this, or any other, employment issue you are having. Contact Us!
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