Topic > Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

In the article "Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know" by Dina Gerdeman, she discusses the problem with management regarding the lack of written policies that emphasize how to handle religion in the workplace. Two important high profile cases were discussed, both sharing the common theme of religious discrimination in the workplace. One case involves a young Muslim woman who fought Abercrombie and Fitch for rejecting her application because she wore a hijab; and the second showing the discrimination of heterosexism such as a religious baker who refused to design a wedding cake for a gay couple. The main theme of this article demonstrates many aspects of how one's religious beliefs are affected by discrimination or can discriminate against others in the workplace, another issue concerns heterosexism and discriminatory harassment based on sexual orientation or identity gender of an interested person. The final issue concerns management policies that address discrimination and recruitment. In detail, this article argues that management policies should be changed if 17-year-old Samantha Elauf performed well when interviewing for Abercrombie, but was later told that her headscarf conflicted with the dress code of the shop. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission joined Elauf's complaint against the company, but Abercrombie won the appeal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Once this case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the judge announced that the court sided with Elauf and that it is illegal "not to refuse to hire or fire any individual, because of race, that individual's color, religion, sex, or national origin. The second case involves an incident at the Jack Philips Masterpiece Bakery in Colorado, where two men wanted to make a cake for their wedding reception but were turned away because it contradicted. their Christian beliefs. The couple then took the matter to court and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in favor of the couple: “This is not about a cake…, but about a fair and equal treatment, and that's why we are here today." Later in the article Dina Gerdeman states that the law establishes rules that business leaders must follow and that companies must not discriminate against protective classes and must provide accommodation reasonable for their religion. Religious discrimination is the main focus of this article and is represented through the example of Samantha Elauf. A woman cannot wear what her religious beliefs require her to wear if she wants to work at the Abercrombie clothing store. This is contrary to human rights legislation, a law that entitles all individuals to equal opportunities regardless of race or colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, etc. Furthermore, this is against the OHRC (Ontario Human Rights Code) where it is stipulated that it does not matter whether the discrimination is intentional or not: what matters is the effect of the behaviour. Where a rule conflicts with religious requirements, there is a duty to ensure that individuals can observe their religion, unless this would cause undue hardship due to cost or health and safety reasons. Illegal discrimination because of religion can include refusal to do.