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NO FRAMES
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Bush Administration, in spite of having virtual control of House, Senate,
and soon the Supreme Court, has chosen to accomplish much of its agenda
through Regulations, which can be made by fiat by Bush appointees.
They are merely announced in the Federal Register. Although these
regulations CAN be outlawed by Congress, or declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court, the sheer volume of these new regulations have
overwhelmed the efforts of what is left of the free press to report on, and
even the Congress to review.
This leaves YOU and ME and our liberal allies to watch, report, and nag our representatives and major press outlets to demand review, debate, and relief.
I hope that the pages of Pagan
Institute Report will not only inform you about developments affecting your
religious liberties, but also give you the tools, the allies, and the information to
act to protect the sacred liberty to worship according to your conscience.
Christa Landon, ed.
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Addresses of your government officials,
UN ambassadors, media moghuls:
News and Activism Hub
Documents Fundamental to Religious Liberty
Bill of Rights
Code of Federal Regulations Title 29, part 1605 (excerpt)
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How to Easily Monitor Legislation
For the full text and current status
of ANY bill in the House or Senate, and more
see http://thomas.loc.gov |
| Religious Anti-Discrimination Law & Guidelines |
Bill of Rights, Amending the Constitution of the United States
Article I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
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Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Religion:
Title 29 CFR
from Federal Code of Regulations (CFR),
which are subject to change at the whim of the president's administration,
and require no action by the legislature, but merely published in the
Federal Register (also available at http://thomas.loc.gov) .
Most of the Bush Neo-con agenda was accomplished through Federal
Regulations. They ARE subject to laws made by Congress and rulings by the
courts. Next time, GET OUT THE VOTE!
Effective June 15, 1966;
amended July 13,1967; November 1, 1980
Title 29 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations ) (PART 1605)
Section
Table of Contents
1605.1 "Religious" nature of a practice or belief.............
1605.2 Reasonable accommodation without undue hardship as required
by Section 701(J) (paragraph 950) of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 ......................
1605.3 Selection Practices...................................
Appendix A to Sections 1605.2 and 1605.3 --- Background
Information
Sec. 1605.1 "Religious" nature of a Practice or Belief. ---
In most cases whether or not a practice or belief is religious is
not at issue. However, in those cases in which the issue does
exist, the Commission will define religious practices to include
moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are
sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.
This standard was developed in UNITED STATES VS. SEEGER, 380 U.S.
163 (1965) and WELSH VS. UNITED STATES, 398 U.S. 333 (1970). The
Commission has consistently applied this standard in its
decisions. The fact that no religious group espouses such beliefs
or the fact that the religious group to which the individual
professes to belong may not accept such belief will not determine
whether the belief is a religious belief of the employee or
prospective employee. The phrase "religious practice" as used in
these Guidelines includes both religious observances and
practices, as stated in Section 701(j) (paragraph 9500, 42 U.S.C.
2000e(j).
Sec. 1605.2 Reasonable Accommodation without Undue Hardship
as Required by Section 701(j) (paragraph 9500 of Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. ---
(a) PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION. This Section clarifies the obligation
imposed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended,
(sections 701 (j) (paragraph 950), 703 (paragraph 954) 717,
(paragraph 982)) to accommodate the religious practices of
employees and prospective employees. This section does not address
other obligations under Title VII not to discriminate on grounds
of religion, nor other provisions of Title VII. This section is
not intended to limit any additional obligations to accommodate
religious practices which may exist pursuant to constitutional, or
other statutory provisions; neither is it intended to provide
guidance for statutes which require accommodation on bases other
than religion such as Sec. 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(paragraph 999.6C). The legal principles which have been developed
with respect to discrimination prohibited by Title VII on the
bases of race, color, sex, and national origin also apply to
religious discrimination in all circumstances other than where an
accommodation is required.
(b) DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE. (1) Section 701(j) (paragraph 950)
makes it an unlawful unemployment practice under Sec. 703(a) (1)
(paragraph 954) for an employer to fail to reasonably accommodate
the religious practices of an employee or prospective, unless the
employer demonstrates that accommodation would result in undue
hardship on the conduct of its business. (2) Section 701(j)
(paragraph 954) in conjunction with Sec. 703(c), imposes an
obligation to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an
employee or prospective employee, unless the labor organization
demonstrates that accommodation would result in undue hardship.
(3) Section 1605.2 is primarily directed to obligations of
employers or labor organizations, which are the entities covered
by Title VII that will most often be required to make an
accommodation. however, the principles of Section 1605.2 also
apply when an accommodation can be required of other entities
covered by Title VII, such as employment agencies (Sec. 703 (b)
(paragraph 954) or joint labor-management committees controlling
apprenticeship or other training or retraining (Sec. 703 (d)
(paragraph 954)).
(c) REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.
(1) After an employee or prospective employee notifies the
employer or labor organization of his or her need for a religious
accommodation, the employer or labor organization has an
obligation to reasonably accommodate the individual's religious
practices. A refusal to accommodate is justified only when an
employer or labor organization can demonstrate that an undue
hardship would in fact result from each available alternative
method of accommodation. A mere assumption that many more people,
with the same religious practices as the person being
accommodated, may also need accommodation is not evidence of undue
hardship.
(2) When there is more than one method of accommodation available
which would not cause undue hardship, the Commission will
determine whether the accommodation offered is reasonable by
examining: (i) The alternatives for accommodation considered by
the employer or labor organization; and (ii) The alternative for
accommodation, if any, actually offered to the individual
requiring accommodation. Some alternatives for accommodating
religious practices might disadvantage the individual with respect
to his or her employment opportunities, such as compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Therefore, when
there is more than one means of accommodation which would not
cause undue hardship, the employer or labor organization must
offer the alternative which least disadvantages the individual
with respect to his or her employment opportunities.
(d) ALTERNATIVES FOR ACCOMMODATING RELIGIOUS PRACTICES.
(1) Employees and prospective employees most frequently request an
accommodation because their religious practices conflict with
their work schedules. The following subsections are some means of
accommodating the conflict between work schedules and religious
practices which the Commission believes that employers and labor
organizations should consider as part of the obligation to
accommodate and which the Commission will consider in
investigating a charge. These are not intended to be all-
inclusive. there are often other alternatives which would
reasonably accommodate an individuals religious practices when
they conflict with a work schedule. There are also employment
practices besides work scheduling which may conflict with
religious practices and cause an individual to request an
accommodation.
(i) VOLUNTARY SUBSTITUTES AND "SWAPS," Reasonable
accommodation without undue hardship is generally possible where a
voluntary substitute with substantially similar qualifications is
available. One means of substitution is the voluntary swap. In a
number of cases, the securing of a substitute has been left
entirely up to the individual seeking the accommodation. The
Commission believes that the obligation to accommodate requires
that employers and labor organizations facilitate the securing of
a voluntary substitute with substantially similar qualififcations.
Some means of doing this which employers and labor organizations
should consider are: to publicize policies regarding accommodation
and voluntary substitution; to promote an atmosphere in which such
substitutions are favorably regarded; to provide a central file,
bulletin board or other means for matching voluntary substitutes
with positions for which substitutes are needed.
(ii) FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING. One means of providing reasonable
accommodation for the religious practices of employees or
prospective employees which employers and labor organizations
should consider is the creation of a flexible work schedule for
individuals requesting accommodation. The following list is an
example of areas in which flexibility might be introduced:
flexible arrival and departure times; floating or optional
holidays; flexible work breaks; use of lunchtime in exchange for
early departure; staggered work hours; and permitting an employee
to make up time lost due to the observance of religious practices.
(ii) LATERAL TRANSFER AND CHANGE OF JOB ASSIGNMENTS. When
an employee cannot be accommodated either as to his or her entire
job or an assignment within the job, employers and labor
organizations should consider whether or not it is possible to
change the job assignment or give the employee a lateral transfer.
APPENDIX
1. There is widespread confusion concerning the extent of
accommodation under the HARDISON decision.
2. The religious practices of some individuals and some groups of
individuals are not being accommodated.
3. Some of those practices which are not being accommodated are:
---Observance of a Sabbath or religious holidays; ---Need for
prayer break during working hours; ---Practice of following
certain dietary requirements; ---Practice of not working during a
mourning period for a deceased relative; ---Prohibition against
medical examinations ---Prohibition against membership in labor
and other organizations; and ---Practices concerning dress and
other personal grooming habits.
4. Many of the employers who testified had developed alternative
employment practices which accommodate the religious practices of
employees and prospective employees and which meet the employer's
business needs.
5. Little evidence was submitted by employers which showed actual
attempts to accommodate religious practices with resultant
unfavorable consequences to the employer's business. Employers
appeared to have substantial anticipatory concerns, but no, or
very little, actual experience with the problems they theorized
would emerge by providing reasonable accommodation for religious
practices.
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| RLUIPA
Supreme Court Decision on RLUIPA
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Last Updated July 1, 2005
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