
Jon Kaweblum is an architect by training and while studying for his architecture degree, he coached a boys’ varsity basketball team coach at a Jewish day school in Florida.
AMAZON KLIPPED KIPAHS SERIES
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) answers questions about how federal employment discrimination law applies to religious dress and grooming practices, and what steps employers can take to meet their legal responsibilities in this area.Įxamples of religious dress and grooming practices include wearing religious clothing or articles ( e.g., a Muslim hijab (headscarf), a Sikh turban, or a Christian cross) observing a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments ( e.g., a Muslim, Pentecostal Christian, or Orthodox Jewish woman's practice of not wearing pants or short skirts), or adhering to shaving or hair length observances ( e.g., Sikh uncut hair and beard, Rastafarian dreadlocks, or Jewish peyes (sidelocks)).As part of my series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful E-Commerce Business”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Kaweblum. What is the federal law relating to religious dress and grooming in the workplace? In most instances, employers are required by federal law to make exceptions to their usual rules or preferences to permit applicants and employees to observe religious dress and grooming practices.ġ. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as amended ("Title VII"),prohibits employers with at least 15 employees (including private sector, state, and local government employers), as well as employment agencies, unions, and federal government agencies, from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Workplace or job segregation based on nial of reasonable accommodation for sincerely held religious practices, unless the accommodation would cause an undue hardship for the employer.disparate treatment based on religion in recruitment, hiring, promotion, benefits, training, job duties, termination, or any other aspect of employment (except that "religious organizations" as defined under Title VII are permitted to prefer members of their own religion in deciding whom to employ).With respect to religion, Title VII prohibits among other things: It also prohibits retaliation against persons who complain of discrimination or participate in an EEO investigation. workplace harassment based on religion.




The law's protections also extend to those who are discriminated against or need accommodation because they profess no religious beliefs. For example, an employer that is not a religious organization (as legally defined under Title VII) cannot make employees wear religious garb or articles (such as a cross) if they object on grounds of non-belief.īecause this definition is so broad, whether or not a practice or belief is religious typically is not disputed in Title VII religious discrimination cases.ģ.
