Faith shows up at work in ordinary ways. A training is scheduled on a major holiday. A team lunch offers only pork sandwiches. A colleague needs a quiet place and a few minutes to pray. A family cannot meet on a Saturday. None of these needs a debate about religion. They need planning.
Start with the calendar. Before setting major meetings, public hearings, training days or deadlines, check an interfaith calendar for major observances such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Good Friday and Easter, Diwali and Lunar New Year. Some dates move each year. You will not avoid every observance, but you can avoid the largest conflicts and offer alternatives. For food, label ingredients, include vegetarian choices, avoid making pork or alcohol the only option, and ask attendees in advance about dietary needs without asking why.
Religious accommodation at work is a legal duty. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's sincerely held religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would cause undue hardship. After a recent Supreme Court decision, Groff v. DeJoy, the EEOC explains that undue hardship means a burden that is substantial in the overall context of the employer's business, not merely a small cost. Common accommodations include flexible scheduling, voluntary shift swaps, prayer breaks and exceptions to dress and grooming rules. The Minnesota Human Rights Act also protects employees from religious discrimination, and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights notes that state law gives public employees days off for religious holidays that do not fall on a Sunday or legal holiday; that time is unpaid unless the employee uses leave or makes up the hours. Supervisors should respond promptly and involve Human Resources, which decides formal requests. Requesting a religious accommodation is protected activity, so it must never count against someone.
In services, invite rather than require. A useful question is: Are there any beliefs, practices, days or people you would like us to keep in mind as we plan your services? Accept any answer, including none, and do not probe. If a person asks for a faith leader, healer or community organization to be involved, ask what role they want that person to play. Record requests as preferences in the person's own words. When a formal service or civil rights question arises, point to the right office, such as Human Resources, the Equal Opportunity and Access Division or legal counsel.
