Title VII & Religious Discrimination in Employment: Accommodation & Exemptions - Prof. F. , Study notes of History of Psychology

Download Title VII & Religious Discrimination in Employment: Accommodation & Exemptions - Prof. F. and more Study notes History of Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 10 Religious Discrimination Bill of Rights  Amendment 1:  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… FREEDOM OF RELIGION Title VII embodies this in the employment arena by prohibiting discrimination in employment based upon religion – either its practices or beliefs. BUT……. RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION Under Title VII we see that the category of religion has built into it a duty to reasonably accommodate the employee's religious conflict unless to do so would cause undue hardship on the employer. RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION 2. …..have “a principal or primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.” As applied to the activities of religious employers, the exemption should be rationally related to the legitimate purpose of alleviating significant governmental interference with the ability of religious organizations to define and carry out their religious missions. WHAT IS RELIGION?  Section 701 of the Civil Rights Act  j) The term ``religion'' includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business. RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION  Employers ask:  “What if I never heard of the employee’s religion? Must I still accommodate it?”  The answer is based upon two considerations: whether the belief is closely held and whether it takes the place of religion in the employee’s life. Religious Conflicts  Once an employer is aware of a religious conflict, the employer must make a good faith attempt to accommodate the conflict and the employee must assist in the attempted accommodation.  If no accommodation can be worked out without undue hardship on the part of the employer, the employer has fulfilled his or her Title VII duty and is not liable if the religious conflict cannot be accommodated. The Employer's Duty to Reasonably Accommodate  When the employer discovers a religious conflict between the employer’s policy and the employee’s religious belief, the employer’s first responsibility is to attempt accommodation. The Employer's Duty to Reasonably Accommodate  If it happens that accommodation is not possible, the employer can implement the policy even though it has the effect of discriminating against the employee on the basis of religion.  Not everything an employee wishes to do need be accommodated simply because it is related to the employee’s religion. What Constitutes Undue Hardship?  Courts have found that there is an undue hardship for an employer to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs if, to do so:  Would violate the seniority provision of a valid collective bargaining agreement.  Pay out more than “de minimis” costs to replace a worker who has a religious conflict.  Force other employees to trade places with the employee who has a religious conflict. Religion as a BFOQ  Title VII permits religion to be a bona fide occupational qualification if it is reasonably necessary to the employer’s particular normal business operations.  Title VII specifically permits educational institutions to employ those of a particular religion of they are owned in whole or substantial part by a particular religion. Religious Harassment  Title VII prohibits religious discrimination as well as religious harassment.  Often the non-religious employees who allege they are being harassed by religious employees.  While the employer has no right to make employees choose between their religion and work, where a religious conflict does not pose an undue hardship, the employee also has no right to dictate to the employer what workplace policies must be. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 29 USC §621, et seq.  PROHIBITION OF AGE DISCRIMINATION SEC. 623. [Section 4]  (a) It shall be unlawful for an employer- (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age; The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 29 USC §621, et seq.  PROHIBITION OF AGE DISCRIMINATION SEC. 623. [Section 4]  (a) It shall be unlawful for an employer-  (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's age; or  (3) to reduce the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with this chapter. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967  Congress enacted the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) in 1967.  The Act applies to employment by public and private employers, unions and employment agencies, as well as by foreign companies located in the United States with more than 20 workers. ADEA  The ADEA’s protection does not extend to state workers under the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents.  Employers under the ADEA are held to an equal benefit/equal cost rule. To comply, employers must either provide equal benefits to workers of all ages or spend an equal amount to purchase benefits. ADEA RECORDKEEPING  Employers are required to maintain the following information for three years for each employee and applicant, where applicable:  Name  address  date of birth  occupation  rate of pay ADEA RECORDKEEPING  Employers are required to maintain the following information for one year for each employee, and for both regular and temporary workers:  job applications, resumes, or other employment inquiries in answer to ads or notices, plus records about failure or refusal to hire.  records on promotion, demotion, transfer, selection for training, layoff, recall, or discharge of any employee.  job orders given to agencies or unions for recruiting personnel for job openings. Proving Age Discrimination  Member of the Protected Class In order to satisfy the first requirement of the prima facie case, the employee must merely show that the she or he is forty years old or older. Proving Age Discrimination  Adverse Employment Action This may include a decision not to hire the applicant, or to terminate the employee Proving Age Discrimination Qualified for the Position  If applicant is not qualified, then the employer's decision regarding the applicant would be justified and the applicant's claim fails  The position requirements, however, must be legitimate requirements, and not merely devised for the purpose of terminating or refusing to hire older workers Employers’ Defenses  Once the employee has presented evidence relating to the employer’s actions, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to present a legitimate and nondiscriminatory reason for its actions. Employers’ Defenses Four Employer Defenses Include: 1. BFOQ 2. Mandatory Retirement 3. Reasonable factor other than age 4. Economic concerns Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Proof of a BFOQ includes:  the essence of the business requires the exclusion of the members of a protected class  all or substantially all of the members of that class are unable to perform adequately in the position in question, and Reasonable Factor Other Than Age  The employer must show that the adverse action was taken as a result of “reasonable factors other than age”  This allows employers to discriminate against protected persons for reasons which may have an adverse effect on older workers, such as dexterity or strength.  The factor must be job-related if the distinction has a disparate impact on employees over forty. Economic Concerns  It is likely to be more expensive under certain circumstances to maintain older workers than younger; so cutting the numbers of older workers may reduce costs in some firms  A termination allegedly based on economic factors may constitute impermissible discrimination, however, when the economic reasons proffered serve merely to obscure the fact that age was the true determinant Economic Concerns  Solution? Offer the older worker the option of accepting a pay cut in lieu of termination.  Terminations pursuant to bona fide reductions in force, bankruptcy, or other legitimate business reasons are generally legal, even if the economic considerations which have necessitated the reduction in force require the termination of older workers rather than younger employees Bona Fide Retirement Plans  The ADEA specifically excludes bona fide retirement plans which distinguish based on age, but are “not a subterfuge to evade the purpose of [the] Act. ”  To be “bona fide”, the plan must be truly voluntary. “Same Actor” Defense  Applies value to a defense where the hirer and the firer is the same person. The theory is that, if someone is willing to hire a person of a particular age, they would not likely terminate that person on the basis of age. OWBPA  The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (“OWBPA”) concerns the legality and enforceability of early retirement incentive programs  Addresses situations where employees are offered amounts of money through retirement plans as incentives for leaving a company