Workplace Discrimination Based on Religion or Religious Creed

It is against the law for your employer to discriminate against you based on your religious beliefs or practices. If you are discriminated against based on your religious creed, you can file a lawsuit against your employer for damages.

Below, our California labor and employment law lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about lawsuits for religious discrimination against California workers:

• 1. Can an employer fire me or refuse to hire me because of religion?
• 2. What religions are protected?
• 3. How do I know if I was discriminated against because of my religion?
• 4. Can I sue my employer?
• 5. What are my damages in an employment discrimination lawsuit?
• 6. Can my boss fire me for reporting religious discrimination?
• Additional Reading

1. Can an employer fire me or refuse to hire me because of religion?

No. Religious discrimination in employment is a violation of California state and federal law. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), it is illegal for an employer to discriminate based on religion.¹ This includes:

• Refusing to hire or employ you,
• Refusing to select you for a training program,
• Firing, bearing, or discharging you, or
• Discriminating against you in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.²

Protections from religious discrimination apply to:

• Religions, creeds, and observances,
• Sincerely held religious or moral beliefs,
• The religion of a spouse or of someone else you are associated with, and
• Perceived religions that your employer mistakenly believes you practice.

Religious Dress and Grooming

Under the California Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2012 (WRFA), religious discrimination protections extend to almost all aspects of a religious belief or practice, including dress and grooming practices.³

Religious dress and religious grooming practices are construed broadly.  Religious dress includes wearing or carrying of religious

• clothing,
• head or face coverings,
• jewelry,
• artifacts, or
• other items.

Religious grooming includes forms of head, facial, and body hair that are part of the observance of your religious creed.⁴

Labor Unions, Training Programs, and Employment Agencies

The laws against religious discrimination also apply to unions and labor organizations, which are prohibited from excluding, expelling, or restricting membership to you based on religious creed.⁵

Religious discrimination prohibitions also apply to apprenticeship training programs and employment agencies.⁶

Employers that are Religious Institutions

An employer that is a religious corporation can restrict eligibility for employment in certain cases, including where the job or position involves the performance of religious duties. However, this is generally limited to religious duties and does not apply to work connected with providing health care.⁷

Reasonable Accommodations

Employers are required to accommodate religious beliefs and observances reasonably so long as they do not cause the company an “undue hardship.” An undue hardship creates significant difficulty or expenses for the employer. (Note that an employer’s bar for establishing an undue hardship is higher under California law than under federal law.) ⁸

Standard accommodations includes:

• schedule changes,
• reassigning job duties, and
• time time off to observe a holy day (such as the Sabbath) as well as travel time to and from a religious event.

2. What religions are protected?

Religious discrimination laws apply to traditional and organized religions, such as:

• Christianity, including Catholicism or Protestantism
• Islam, including Sunni and Shia Muslims
• Judaism
• Buddhism
• Hinduism
• Sikhism

However, religious protections also apply to individual religious beliefs or creeds, even if they are not part of a traditional or organized religion.⁹ Religious creed discrimination also prohibits denying benefits because you are secular and have no religious beliefs.¹⁰

Note that the law may not protect secular philosophical beliefs in California.¹¹ For example, a California Appellate Court ruled that an employee’s vegan beliefs that animals should not be harmed did not qualify as a religion under the FEHA.¹²

3. How do I know if I was discriminated against because of my religion?

You may be a victim of religious workplace discrimination if your boss took one of the following adverse employment actions against you despite you being a competent employee:

• Refusing to hire you
• Refusing to select you for a training program
• Demoting you
• Firing you
• Paying you less
• Reducing your salary
• Denying equal pay in violation of The California Equal Pay Act
• Denying you a promotion
• Denying you a reinstatement
• Denying you benefits
• Forcing you to quit
• Harassing you on the basis of religion
• Discriminating against you in any other way

Discrimination against you can be obvious; however, it is often more subtle or discreet. Discrimination can take place without you even understanding that you were treated differently because of religious reasons.

4. Can I sue my employer?

5. What are my damages in an employment discrimination lawsuit?

Monetary damages in a religion-based discrimination lawsuit may include:

• Back pay with interest and front pay
• Higher income from a promotion
• Benefits and pension payments
• Bonuses
• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress
• Punitive damages
• Attorney’s fees and court costs¹⁴

If you were fired because of your religion, the judge can order that the employer rehire you. However, most people prefer to find a new employer with no history of bad blood.

6. Can my boss fire me for reporting religious discrimination?

No. In California, the FEHA protects you if you are retaliated against for:

• Opposing workplace harassment,
• Opposing religious discrimination against other employees,
• Reporting religious discrimination or workplace harassment,
• Assisting with CRD investigations or government inquiries, or
• Filing a harassment or discrimination claim or lawsuit.¹⁵

If you are fired for any of the above, you can file a complaint with the CRD or file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the employer.¹⁶

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Religious Discrimination in the Workplace: A Review and Examination of Current and Future Trends – Journal of Business and Psychology.
• Religious Discrimination in the Workplace: An Emerging Hierarchy? – Ecclesiastical Law Journal.
• Examining the Effects of Exposure to Religion in the Workplace on Perceptions of Religious Discrimination – Review of Religions Research.
• Cultural Discrimination: The Reasonable Accommodation of Religion in the Workplace – Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal.
• Religion at work: Evaluating hostile work environment religious discrimination claims – Psychology, Public Policy, adn Law.

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