Must an employer accommodate an employee who cannot work Saturdays due to religious beliefs?

Employers with 15 or more employees must make reasonable accommodations for employees' religious observances, according the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Therefore, if employers can reasonably accommodate the employee's request, they must.

Examples of religious accommodations include flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions, job reassignments, lateral transfers, or modification of a workplace practice, policy or procedure.

Deciding if an accommodation is reasonable depends on the circumstances. For example, providing every Saturday off may not be reasonable for a very small organization, but may be reasonable for a large organization.

If an accommodation would cause an undue hardship for the company, the accommodation does not have to be made. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "An employer can show undue hardship if accommodating an employee's religious practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs, diminishes efficiency in other jobs, infringes on other employees' job rights or benefits, impairs workplace safety, causes co-workers to carry the accommodated employee's share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work, or if the proposed accommodation conflicts with another law or regulation."

Employers should seek legal counsel to ensure they are properly ascertaining their obligations regarding reasonable accommodation under the circumstances.