Christmas Decorations at Work

Yesterday, during a day-long virtual webinar sponsored by M. Lee Smith Publishers at which I was one of the presenters, the last question of the day from one of our virtual attendees went something like this: If a non-Christian employee objects to Christmas decorations placed in common areas by the employer and placed in individual workspaces by co-workers, do we have to remove the decorations?

My answer was no, at least as far as the private sector is concerned. I said that the question could be slightly more problematic for a government employer. In other words, putting up traditional Christmas decorations at work doesn’t constitute a form of religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Upon returning to the office, I reviewed the part of the EEOC Compliance Manual dealing with religious discrimination and found the following:

EXAMPLE 52
Employer Holiday Decorations

“Each December, the president of XYZ corporation directs that several wreaths be placed around the office building and a tree be displayed in the lobby.  Several employees complain that to accommodate their non-Christian religious beliefs, the employer should take down the wreaths and tree, or alternatively should add holiday decorations associated with other religions.  Title VII does not require that XYZ corporation remove the wreaths and tree or add holiday decorations associated with other religions. The result under Title VII on these facts would be the same whether in a private or government workplace.”

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, based on the facts presented in the above example (which are very similar to those in the question at the end of the virtual seminar), the usual Christmas decorations one sees in most workplaces don’t have to be removed by either a private or government employer, and an employer’s use of these decorations in the workplace doesn’t violate Title VII. Sometimes, the EEOC and I are on the same page.

1. 

   ACU Frank says:

   December 10, 2009 at 5:54 pm

   Sometimes, though, the true skill in managing during the holidays comes in keeping the decorations up without the objections rising to begin with… Or at least not having to resort to “We’re keeping them up because the law allows us to.” That’s a recipe for disaster down the road.

   (Disclaimer: Your employees may require you to have a lot more skill than mine do. Hahaha.)
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   December 10, 2009 at 6:46 pm

   Frank,

   You’re clearly sensitive and competent to pull this off, regardless of the caliber of your employees, which I’m sure is quite high.

   John
3. 

   Michele says:

   December 12, 2009 at 12:52 am

   This discusses an employer stand- that they do not have to remove – but what if all employees decorate their doors but one employee goes overboard with religious content – can an employer ask this one employee to remove items if no other employees have religious content on their doors?
4. 

   John Phillips says:

   December 13, 2009 at 11:08 am

   Michele,

   If I had any sense, I’d say that I don’t try to answer really hard questions. But I’ve never been accused of having much sense.

   You’re question is obviously tougher than the first one posed. That ususally means that the answer is tougher to be definite about. I’ll give it a shot nonetheless.

   If an employee has complained about the religious content, then the employer has the right to talk to the over-the-top employee and request that the religious content be removed. This should be done with an attitude of trying to be sensitive to the feelings of all employees.

   What if the employee refuses to remove the religious content because his religious faith requires him to display the religious content at this time of the year. Is he entitled to an accommodation that would permit the religious content to remain? Title VII requires a reasonable accommodation of en employee’s religious faith unless it causes an undue hardship. At the very least, an employee is entitled to have his request for religious accommodation considered. Another employee’s taking offense at the religious content wouldn’t be enough, in my opinion, to cause the employer an undue hardship.

   If the employee with the religious content on his door also uses this season as a time to proselytize co-workers, that’s going too far, and an employer could prohibit the employee from engaging in that kind of activity.

   This is a sensitive area, and employers should be senstitive when dealing with it. Perhaps instead of requiring the employee to remove the religious content from his door, he should be asked to move the religious content inside his office or other workspace. It’s important to be sensitive to an employee who wants to display religious content at this time of the year and to an employee who is offended by the display. The employer needs to be reasonable and needs to encourage employees to be reasonable.

   I prefer to handle these sorts of matters on a case-by-case, low-key basis, with the goal being to reach a compromise.

   Having said all this, I’m sure some labor and employment lawyers and HR professionals might disagree or suggest another approach. I encourage them to weigh in on this discussion.

   Hope this helps a little.

   John