Both federal and California law prohibit discrimination based on religion and require employers to make reasonable accommodations for their employees’ religious beliefs that are associated with traditional religions, as well as religious observances and practices. California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) also prohibits retaliation against a person for requesting an accommodation of a religious practice regardless of whether the request was granted. Under the FEHA, to establish religious creed discrimination, the employee must show that:

In fact, if a religious observance of yours–such as religious dressing or grooming practices or observance of a holy day–conflicts with a work requirement, your employer is required to accommodate these religious observances and may not retaliate against you. However, there is a limited exception to federal and California law prohibiting religious discrimination. A religious organization may restrict employment to members of its own faith and may terminate employees for exclusively religious reasons. Thus, religious organizations are allowed to engage in religious discrimination.

If your employer discriminates against you because of your religion, you must first file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing before you can bring suit. You can attempt to do this yourself or you can hire a religious discrimination lawyer at Fidelity Law to handle this process for you.

If the religious discrimination that you faced in the workplace caused you to lose income, you may be entitled to recover your lost wages. You are also entitled to recover monetary damages for the emotional harm caused by the religous discrimination, punitive damages to punish and deter the employer, and attorneys’ fees. Contact us today or call (310) 854-4245 to learn more about your options and rights regarding religious workplace discrimination in the state of California.