Can an employer not grant a few hours off for a religious holiday?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Can an employer not grant a few hours off for a religious holiday?

I work at a hospital and my employer won’t grant me and a few people off on our

religious holiday. Ee currently don’t have a union but they are thinking about bringing it back.

Asked on October 16, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Iowa

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

An employer has an obligation to not discriminate against its employees on the basis of their religion. Accordingly, it has the obligation to provide "reasonable accommodations" for its worker's religious beliefs/practices. One accommodation is allowing requests for time off for religious holidays unless it would cause an "undue hardship" on the business. For a religious accommodation to be an undue burden, an employer would need to show that the accommodation poses a substantial cost or burden. And, in most cases, providing unpaid time off is not such a burden. So unless an employee’s absence would compromise safety, force other employees to change shifts and infringe on other their rights under a seniority system, or if the employer would have to spend a significant amount for temporary workers or in overtime pay to cover the employee’s absence, the an accomodation must typically be made. That having been said, an employer does not have to pay the employee for the time that they are not working. Further, an employer may require that the worker make up the lost time or require/allow them to use a personal or vacation day.

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

An employer has an obligation to not discriminate against its employees on the basis of their religion. Accordingly, it has the obligation to provide "reasonable accommodations" for its worker's religious beliefs/practices. One accommodation is allowing requests for time off for religious holidays unless it would cause an "undue hardship" on the business. For a religious accommodation to be an undue burden, an employer would need to show that the accommodation poses a substantial cost or burden. And, in most cases, providing unpaid time off is not such a burden. So unless an employee’s absence would compromise safety, force other employees to change shifts and infringe on other their rights under a seniority system, or if the employer would have to spend a significant amount for temporary workers or in overtime pay to cover the employee’s absence, the an accomodation must typically be made. That having been said, an employer does not have to pay the employee for the time that they are not working. Further, an employer may require that the worker make up the lost time or require/allow them to use a personal or vacation day.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption