Written by Don Byrd
A certified nursing assistant at Jasper, Alabama’s Shadescrest Healthcare was denied the right to wear a hijab in accordance with her faith, and ultimately fired over her discrimination complaint, according to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week.
From the EEOC press release:
“Businesses, like Shadescrest, must respect the religious practices of their employees and, when practical, accommodate those practices,” said EEOC Birmingham District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas. “The EEOC will continue to target policies and practices that discourage or prohibit people from exercising their rights under employment discrimination statutes, or that impede the EEOC’s investigative or enforcement efforts.
EEOC Birmingham Regional Attorney C. Emanuel Smith added, “Failure to accommodate religious dress and grooming remains a wide-spread problem. The EEOC recently issued a Question and Answer document and a fact sheet to guide employers and employees on this issue. This agency will remain vigilant to ensure that Americans of all faiths are free from discrimination in the workplace.”
The number of workplace religious discrimination complaints with the EEOC has more than doubled since 1997. Earlier this year, the EEOC released new guidance on the issue of religious attire in the workplace, noting that “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.”
