California and federal law prohibit religious discrimination or discriminating against someone based on their religious beliefs. California and federal law also require employers to accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of their employees. The Religious Discrimination Lawyers of Helmer Friedman LLP represent individuals that have experienced discrimination and/or whose employers have refused to accommodate their religious beliefs and practices. Religious discrimination is treating individuals differently in their employment because of their religion, their religious beliefs and practice.  It also includes treating individuals differently because of their lack of religious belief or practice. If you have been denied employment, fired, harassed or otherwise harmed because of your religion, your religious beliefs and practices, or your request for accommodation of religious beliefs and practices, you may have suffered unlawful religious discrimination. Contact Helmer Friedman LLP’s religious discrimination attorneys today for a consultation.

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Some workers experiencing religious discrimination may also experience other forms of illegal discrimination, such as national origin discrimination, immigration/citizenship status discrimination, or race discrimination. Here are some examples of potentially unlawful religious discrimination:

Hiring / Firing / Promotion

  • Refusing to hire an employee because he or she observes a Saturday Sabbath
  • Firing an employee after he or she misses work to observe a religious holiday
  • Promoting an employee only if she is willing to attend church regularly
  • Transferring an employee to a position with less public contact because they wear religious clothing
  • Not giving an employee a raise until he stops discussing religious beliefs with other employees during free time such as breaks or lunch

Harassment

  • Making fun of employees or telling them they are violating the company’s dress code because they wear religious clothing such as yarmulkes, turbans, or hijabs (head scarves)
  • Repeatedly mocking a person because of his or her strong, Christian beliefs
  • Ridiculing a Muslim employee for refusing pork at a company picnic
  • Making efforts repeatedly to “save the soul” of a fellow employee who is an atheist

Failure to accommodate

  • Requiring an employee to work on his Sunday Sabbath, even though other employees are willing to trade shifts with him
  • Forcing an employee to remove her hijab (scarf) to comply with the company’s dress code even though other employees wear baseball caps on the job
  • Not allowing employees to display religious icons or other expressions of religious belief in their work spaces, although employees are allowed to display other types of personal items

If any of these things have happened to you on the job, you may have suffered illegal religious discrimination.  Contact the religious discrimination lawyers at Helmer Friedman LLP for a case evaluation.