Resources for Workplace and School Accommodations
In the US, the right to religious coverings has been well established under both the law and under case law via the courts. We hope these links will help people in the United States better understand their rights, as well as how to exercise them.
Workplaces
Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities from the EEOC
A fact sheet from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that explains in plain English the rights of all Americans under the law to religious accommodations.
Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: Your Rights and Obligations – Anti-Defamation League
A plain English PDF that explains in great detail the rights of workers and employers regarding religious accommodations.
Recent Rulings on Protecting Religious Expression – US Department of Justice
Recent case law on religious expression in the work place.
Can we require documentation from a religious authority to verify an employee’s request for religious accommodation? – Society of HR Managers
Tempting as it might be to require documentation from a religious authority to verify that the employee is a practicing member, guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicates that “[b]ecause the definition of religion is broad and protects beliefs and practices with which the employer may be unfamiliar, the employer should ordinarily assume that an employee’s request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely-held religious belief. If, however, an employee requests religious accommodation, and an employer has an objective basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of a particular belief or practice, the employer would be justified in seeking additional supporting information.”
Sample Religious Accommodation Request Form – Society of HR Managers
Useful if your workplace does not have a process already in place
Schools
Know Your Rights – Title VI and Religion – US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
Currently religious discrimination is not protected by the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
Protecting Religious Liberty in Public Schools – A School Official’s Guide – ACLU
Fatima is a Muslim student who wears the hijab, a headscarf, as part of the observance of her sincerely-held religious beliefs. Her school’s dress code has a strict no hats or scarves policy, and a school administrator told Fatima she may not wear the hijab at school. Is this constitutional?
No. Public schools can regulate dress with dress codes, as long as those codes are content-neutral and unbiased. Schools should allow reasonable exceptions to their dress codes to accommodate students’ individual religious beliefs
Combatting Religious Discrimination and Protecting Religious Freedom – Department of Justice
Religious Dress: Schools may not discriminate against students who wear religious clothes or headcoverings. In Hearn and United States v. Muskogee Public School District, the Civil Rights Division intervened in the case of a Muslim girl who was told that she could not wear a headscarf required by her faith to school. The Civil Rights Division’s suit was based on the fact that the school was enforcing its uniform policy in an inconsistent manner. The case was settled by consent decree in May 2004.
Hearn vs United States
Case Law on religious head coverings in schools