Written by Don Byrd
Tomorrow, the Washington State Supreme Court will hear an interesting case that may determine the extent to which that state’s anti-discrimination laws require religious accommodation. Plaintiffs have recourse to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to file workplace discrimination complaints through the EEOC, but the level of state law protection in Washington is unclear. Most presumed that the state’s anti-discrimination law required some workplace accommodation, but a ruling last year by a state appeals court dismissed a complaint on the grounds that the state had not officially recognized an accommodation requirement.
The Seattle Times reports:
Laura Lindstrand, policy analyst for the Human Rights Commission, said there was never a legal question around religious accommodation until last year’s ruling in the Battle Ground case.
State law was liberally and broadly construed, as the Legislature intended, to require employers to make “reasonable” religious accommodations for their workers, she said.
While it has not written regulations, the commission has published guidelines around such protections and has investigated such complaints and made determinations on cases, with the understanding that such protection exists, whether under state law, or by extension under federal law, Lindstrand said.
“We didn’t think it was an issue; we were not concerned about the lack of specific language in the law.”
State law recognition could move some cases from federal to state courts, the article says, which would allow discrimination claims against companies with fewer employees – “those with eight workers versus those with 25 as required in federal cases.”
