Mosque Furor and Employment Law — Tip of the Week
We are all familiar with the high-profile battle in Manhattan over constructing a mosque near ground zero. According to a recent article in the New York Times, a furor over mosque-building is sweeping the country. From New York to Tennessee to Wisconsin to California, proposals to erect mosques in various locations have been met with vociferous opposition. Whether this uproar is caused by 9/11, fear of terrorism, religious misunderstanding, a sincere belief that Islam is antithetical to the foundation of America, or whatever, a word about employment law may be worthwhile.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. This includes harassment based on a person’s religious beliefs. What does this have to do with community opposition to building a mosque? In all the locations where this has become an issue, there have been protests, counter-protests, harsh words, and even threats of violence. The issue becomes what citizens of a town or city are talking about all day and all night. Both sides are dug in for what they sincerely believe is right or wrong.
When an issue becomes so volatile that it’s talked about in restaurants, homes, stadiums, grocery stores, beauty parlors, town hall meetings, churches, synagogues, and mosques, it’s also going to be talked about around water coolers — in offices and workplaces. That’s not necessarily an employment law problem unless the conversations lead to ethnic slurs, shunning of Muslim employees, assigning Muslim employees more difficult work than others, terrorist accusations, and the like. If an employer’s supervisors, managers, HR professionals, and executives allow this kind of activity to occur, the employer runs the risk of committing religious discrimination or harassment.
Sometimes, there’s a fine line. It’s important for employers to realize that and to try to discern the line.
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About Chris Parker
Chris Parker's practice focuses on the representation and counseling of companies in matters pertaining to the workplace and the protection of their intellectual property and trade secrets. In addition to serving as an advocate for clients, Mr. Parker is also trained as a mediator and frequently serves as a third-party neutral.
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About Jimmy Daniel
Jimmy Daniel provides counseling to businesses of all sizes related to the employment relationship. He assists in the drafting of employment agreements, policies, and handbooks, as well as provides guidance related to compliance with federal, state, and local legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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About Larry Bridgesmith
While serving in an Of Counsel relationship with the firm, Mr. Bridgesmith also serves as the Executive Director at the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Lipscomb University and as an officer and principal in Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC. In these roles, Mr. Bridgesmith brings over 30 years of legal experience in dispute resolution and innovative workplace strategies to clients, students and business entities alike.
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Well one would hope that controversial issues such as religion and politics would not be discussed in the workplace. There needs to be a greater division between one’s personal life and work life. I was shocked to find out prospective employers routinely use Google and Facebook to find out personal details about job candidates so they can refuse a job based on someone’s religious or political beliefs. There ought to be a law against that. I set all my Facebook privacy settings to friends-only so I can speak freely to friends and family.
Lynne,
Thanks very much for your comment. I appreciate your POV.
From a personal standpoint, I think it’s too bad that there can’t be more discussion among employees about the issues of the day. The workplace used to be one of the places that ideas were could be discussed and debated. Either because of the law or the PC police, it’s problematic to say much of anything now at work.
There is already a law that prevents employers from using the Internet to discriminate against applicants and employees based on their religion. Title VII would clearly prohibit that kind of activity. From a practical standpoint, however, it would be pretty difficult to prove. Technology moves at the speed of light. The law moves like a tortoise.
Also, keep in mind that politics and religion are not in the same category. Political parties or beliefs are not protected classes like race, sex, national origin, religion, age and disability. There may be state statutes that provide protection, but except for civil service provisions that apply to government employers, an employer isn’t prevented from considering a person’s politics. That’s not smart, but it’s possible for it to legally happen.
Thanks again for participating in this discussion.
John
I was shocked to find out employees are signing up for Facebook to complain about their employers. Shocked, I tell you.
Goose, meet Gander.
Frank,
I had no idea you were so easily shocked. Thanks for letting us know.
John
I think you need to refer to the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Michael,
Thanks very much for your comment.
If you’re talking about the freedom of speech, that rarely comes into play with respect to employment matters, particularly in the private sector. I don’t know how many employees are fired every day for something they say, but I’d say it’s in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands.
Thanks for weighing in.
John