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WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.., May 9, 2003: A broad coalition of religious groups is pushing a bill that would protect religious expression in the workplace, but civil liberties groups are concerned the bill could be used to increase on-the-job proselytizing. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act would force employers to “reasonably accommodate” employees who want to wear religious articles or take time off for worship services. Current law mandates that employers allow such expression as long as it does not impose an “undue hardship” on the company. Supporters, however, say a 1977 Supreme Court ruling gutted the law and has not protected employees’ rights. The American Jewish Committee, one of the bill’s primary backers, points to cases like that of Amric Singh Rathour, a Sikh, who was fired as a New York City traffic cop when he refused to shave his religiously mandated beard or remove his turban. The employer mandate was inserted into Title VII of the federal Civil rights Act in 1972. Five years later, however, the Supreme Court ruled that even a minimal hardship on employers was not covered under the act. The new bill would define “undue hardship” as something that imposes “significant difficulty or expense” on the employer or that would keep an employee from carrying out the “essential functions” of the job. Opponents of the bill say there are no protections to prohibit an employee from forcing religious beliefs on other workers, or from allowing a worker to dictate his or her own duties because of religious or moral convictions.

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