-
Essay / 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 issue with management regarding the lack of written policies that focus on how to manage religion in the workplace. Two major 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 shows heterosexist discrimination as a religious baker who refused to design a wedding cake for a gay couple. The main theme of this article shows many aspects of how a person's religious beliefs are affected by discrimination or can discriminate against others in the workplace, another issue is heterosexism and discriminatory harassment based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of a stakeholder. The final issue concerns management policies dealing with discrimination and recruitment. In detail, this article argues that management policies should be changed in the case where 17-year-old Samantha Elauf did well in the interview for Abercrombie, but was later told that her headscarf conflicted with the dress code from the store. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission joined Elauf's complaint against the company, but Abercrombie won the appeal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Once this case reached the United States Supreme Court, the judge announced that the court was siding with side of Elauf and that it was illegal to “not refuse to hire” or fire any person, because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. » The second case involves an incident at Jack Philips Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado, where two men wanted a cake made for their wedding reception but were refused because it contradicted their Christian beliefs. The couple then took the case to court and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in favor of the couple. In a statement, the couple said: "It's not about a cake..., it's about fair and equal treatment, and that's why we are here today." » Later in the article, Dina Gerdeman states that the law sets out rules that business owners must follow and that businesses must not discriminate against protected classes and must provide reasonable accommodations for their religion. Religious discrimination is the main focus of this article and is described 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 goes against human rights legislation, a law that gives all individuals the right to equal opportunity regardless of race or color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, etc. Furthermore, this goes against the OHRC (Ontario Human Rights Code) where it says that it does not matter whether the discrimination is intentional or not: it is the effect of the behavior that is important. Where a rule conflicts with religious requirements, there is an obligation to ensure that individuals can observe their religion, unless this would cause undue hardship for reasons.