What Protections Are There Against Religious Discrimination in the Workplace?
Posted June 19th, 2025.
Categories: Blog.
As an employee in the United States, you are offered various protections against discrimination in the workplace, whether the maltreatment is based on race, religion, sex, or some other protected characteristic. Despite these protections, discrimination still exists. It is critical that you understand your legal rights at work to ensure you are protected from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. If you feel like your rights have been violated, consult with a Cherry Hill employment law attorney to learn more about your legal options today.
What is Religious Discrimination?
Religious discrimination in the workplace is any adverse treatment towards an employee based on their religious beliefs or practices. When employment decisions are made based on an individual’s religion or religious observance, it is considered discrimination. This can include hiring, firing, promotions, pay, benefits, and more.
Religious discrimination can also come in the form of harassment. Hostile comments, slurs, offensive gestures, and more targeting a worker’s religious beliefs are considered harassment.
What Protections Are There Against Religious Discrimination in the Workplace?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that enforces various laws regulating applicants’ and employees’ rights in the workplace. One of these laws is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on protected characteristics including religious beliefs and practices.
At work, you have the right to apply for and be fairly considered for any job regardless of your religious beliefs. Employers cannot base employment practices on your religion including refusing to hire you, terminating your employment, refusing to promote you, assigning tasks, offering benefits, paying you differently, and more. You also have the right to reasonable accommodations for religious practices. Employers must make an effort to accommodate your religion unless it would cause them an undue burden. Accommodations often come in the form of adjusting the dress code, allowing time off for religious holidays, or rearranging a work schedule to allow time for prayer.
New Jersey state law also protects individuals from discrimination and harassment based on religious beliefs in employment, places of public accommodation, housing, and business transactions. Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), if you belong to a particular religious group, attend a particular place of worship, are associated with a person of a particular religion, are perceived to be of a particular faith, or are a non-believer, NJ law protects you from discrimination.
It is important to note that both federal and state laws may have limitations when it comes to jobs within a religious organization. Certain jobs may require individuals to be of a particular faith like a religious teacher or some role in a church or religious association.
To learn more about the legal protections offered to you in the workplace, reach out to an experienced employment attorney at the Law Office of Mark S. Guralnick today.
