Ask a Manager: Where’s the line on religious accommodation?

[minoanmiss]

I was curious about where the line is on religious accommodation, and at what point it’s okay to say an accommodation cannot be made. Also, I know for many things you recommend that candidates let the hiring team know of any accommodations they need at the offer stage (which makes perfect sense) but what if they don’t say anything until their first couple of weeks?


I had an employee who needed an accommodation that allowed them to take lunch at a different time from the rest of the company once a week. This was somewhat inconvenient but I was able to accommodate them. Later they let me know that they were going to need additional accommodations, which again were doable but inconvenient. I also noticed that their work performance suffered during certain times when they told me they needed to fast for their religion. I felt that I couldn’t bring this up as I was worried about being accused of violating a religious accommodation. They didn’t make me aware of any of these needed accommodations until they’d been hired and working for a couple of weeks. At one point it was suggested that in order for me to accommodate this employee I would need to work additional hours (unpaid as I am salaried and exempt). I was able to push back on that but it was stressful and I had to use some capital I don’t think I should have had to use.

I was able to accommodate this employee with minimal frustration, but what if it hadn’t been as easy? What if there’d been a standing meeting that they were needed for during the time they needed to take their lunch that couldn’t be easily moved? I want to be as supportive and flexible as possible but at what point am I able to say “this goes past reasonable”?

The law says employers must accommodate employees’ religious needs unless it would cause “undue hardship.” The bar for undue hardship is pretty high — generally something that’s costly, compromises people’s safety, requires others to do more than their share of difficult or undesirable work, or infringes on other employees’ rights. Moving a meeting likely doesn’t meet that bar, although you having to work more hours probably would.

If the person’s work performance suffered when they were fasting, I’d look at how you handle it when someone else’s work performance suffers because they’re sick, tired, hungry, etc. Presumably you figure that everyone has ups and downs and unless it becomes a pattern, it’s generally just part of working with humans. (I’m assuming the fasting periods were relatively rare. If they weren’t, then you’d address the performance issues just like you would any other — no need to bring the fasting into it.)

But it’s absolutely fine that the employee didn’t address the accommodations they needed until a few weeks on the job. There’s no requirement, ethical or legal, that they address it earlier than that. (Keep in mind that you can’t legally rescind a job offer over it, so there’s no real reason you needed to hear it earlier; it’s fine for them to raise it when they’re comfortable raising it.)

Comments

[movingfinger]

Given the highly structured and scheduled nature of work at the company, it sounds like what OP was asking was, how to wrangle HR on the necessary accommodations. They did well, IMO.

I do think the employee made it harder with the drip-drip-drip nature of the requests, which seem to have added up to a series of exceptions to the established norms, rather than being forthright in the first week or two after starting. I wholly empathize with and understand why the employee did that, but that approach sets up for a very stressful situation where little bombs are occasionally going off for the manager and disrupting long-established (for good reason, in the case of international meetings) routines.

[purlewe]

I feel like when the employee told them they were a certain religion, it was kinda the HR and the manager's job to anticipate and perhaps learn about that religion for their own knowledge about what would possibly be coming.

I am making a generalization but this sounds like someone needs to go to Masjid on Fridays and probably fasts for the month of Ramadan (which is currently ongoing right now, which might be why this question is happening right now)

Looking at this another way. I knew teachers who had students who would be fasting during ramadan (which mean being up very early to eat before prayer in the morning, and staying up late at night to eat as well) They too would notice their students were not as focused during that month (and felt so bad for the kids when say state exams were during that month) But other than hoping they would not fall asleep during classes, tailored and changed their curriculum that month to help all students. Managers should be able to do the same.

[sporky_rat]

In the US, you aren't required to state religion on an application or interview.

[purlewe]

No I understand that. I mean *after* they were hired they said they needed a special lunchtime once a week. At that point I feel like it was the employer's job to anticipate what else their employee would need. Say if they were having lunches for the whole team brought in, they would anticipate that their religion might not allow certain food items. And they would anticipate other religious holidays. Acting like this was a surprise AFTER they asked for the first accommodation seems odd to me. After they were hired and asked for one accommodation HR and their manager should have EXPECTED other accommodations to follow.

[movingfinger]

HR and the manager have no way of knowing what anyone's religious observation preferences and desired workplace accommodations are without being explicitly told, no matter what religion they have been informed the employee practices. People vary enormously in their observances, even given apparently clearly-stated rules. It would be presumptuous to assume anything.

[twospots]

HR/manager definitely have no way of knowing for sure, but it would be super easy to make some reasonable predictions, which would then allow them to plan ahead for likely possibilities.

Friday lunchtime + fasting makes the very likely Muslim--and even if they don't want to talk to the employee, they can just compare fasting/other patterns to various religions and figure this out. Lots of data to work from! But let's assume Muslim. If they're going to Friday prayer, then they're likely on the more observant end of the spectrum, but again, you don't really need to know that to plan ahead.

Possible things that employee will want accommodation for:

- Friday prayer
- private space to pray throughout the day
- modified workload during Ramadan? Or something else
- time off for major holidays, which, unlike for Christians, are unlikely to fall on stat holidays
- halal meals when applicable
- may refrain from shaking hands

Like, even if they've never met a Muslim person in their whole entire life, this is a 30-second google. And if they don't want to actually have to do any reading themselves, they can call their local (or state, or national, whatever) Muslim Association. They're in management and HR! This is literally their job! There is NO reason for this to be "a very stressful situation where little bombs are occasionally going off" unless they make it one.

[purlewe]

Thank you. This was what I was trying to convey. You said it better than I could.

[cereta]

To be clear, because I think you accidentally a word, there, are you saying the teachers customized their curriculum to account for Ramadan fasting? Because as a teacher, I would find that...difficult, and that's even before the interests of fairness required that I accommodate the needs of other religions. I mean, I do accommodate special day-off requirements by giving X number of absences with no reason required, but a student missing something like every Friday when that's 1/3 of the class meetings isn't going to work.

[purlewe]

I am talking about middle grade school teacher who had to change the entire class curriculum due to the fact that their kids were fasting and had lower attention spans, and were sometimes likely to fall asleep during the month of Ramadan. This was harder when say the statewide testing happened on that same month (as statewide testing is always the same time of year, and Ramadan moves) Falling asleep during testing was something that happened more frequently during Ramadan bc it was quiet. And they were not allowed to wake the children up bc that would be considered interfering with the test. This was not about going to Masjid on fridays during schooltime.

[jadelennox]

If we had better workplace protections or stronger unions in the US it would be a different story, but it's hard, given that there's no realistically practical way to prove your offer was rescinded because you're in a protected class. I've started disclosing disability before the written offer only because employers are such pricks when they get the revelation after the fact, but I know I've lost offers because of it and if I weren't economically privileged I wouldn't do that.

[likeaduck]

I kind of think if the OP had wanted to ask that they could have asked that? I think we can take them at their word that they're viewing the requirement to give accommodations as the source of their problem, and not their shitty management, and I honestly wish AAM had provided more of a reframe. The OP's doing fine on the substance of their actions, but adjusting their perspective could help in future situations by a) keeping having to give accommodations from affecting their view of their employees; b) not have everything come as such a surprise because they accept each one grudgingly and hope there won't be more rather than, after the first one, ASKING if the employee foresees any others; c) grounding their arguments with management in the sense of their correctness so they can feel firmer about holding them to a higher standard.