The Beard or the Job With a diverse workforce comes a plethora of religious beliefs, practices, and observances. As stated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against employees and potential employees based on nationality, gender, race, color, or religion. Further, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious beliefs and observances, as long as the accommodations do not cause the organization undue hardship in their business. Presented the case of Siddiq Abu-Bakris against the School District of Philadelphia where the employer failed to reasonably accommodate his religious beliefs and practices.
Siddiq Abu-Bakris vs The School District of Philadelphia …show more content…
In accordance to his Islamic faith he had grown a beard during his entire tenure with the district and the beard was longer than one-quarter of an inch. According to court documents, the school district implemented a new grooming policy that restricted school police officers from having a beard longer than one-quarter of an inch (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Abu-Bakris requested accommodation based upon his religious belief and instead of granting the wished, the school district issued diciplinary action for not adhereing to the districts grooming policy(2014). Moreover, the district regularly denies any accommodation requests which pertains to beard grooming (2014). This suit was executed based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where the school district violated Abu-Bakris rights of accommodation under his religious beliefs and practices. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate when it comes to employment matters based on religion, in this case that is exactly what the school district did by not providing reasonable accommodation to Abu-Bakris for his beard. Additionally, the school had done so as a course of action in other situations where religious beard accommodations had been …show more content…
As companies labor over providing the best accommodation for their workers, they must understand and support the religion nuances of many. Establishing strong policies and procedures, comprehensive training, and general acceptance of difference are comportments to assist organizations in accommodating overall diversity variances. In the end, it is all about accepting and supporting the difference of individuals which make the organization better, strong, and more competitive in the
Siddiq Abu-Bakris vs The School District of Philadelphia …show more content…
In accordance to his Islamic faith he had grown a beard during his entire tenure with the district and the beard was longer than one-quarter of an inch. According to court documents, the school district implemented a new grooming policy that restricted school police officers from having a beard longer than one-quarter of an inch (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Abu-Bakris requested accommodation based upon his religious belief and instead of granting the wished, the school district issued diciplinary action for not adhereing to the districts grooming policy(2014). Moreover, the district regularly denies any accommodation requests which pertains to beard grooming (2014). This suit was executed based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where the school district violated Abu-Bakris rights of accommodation under his religious beliefs and practices. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate when it comes to employment matters based on religion, in this case that is exactly what the school district did by not providing reasonable accommodation to Abu-Bakris for his beard. Additionally, the school had done so as a course of action in other situations where religious beard accommodations had been …show more content…
As companies labor over providing the best accommodation for their workers, they must understand and support the religion nuances of many. Establishing strong policies and procedures, comprehensive training, and general acceptance of difference are comportments to assist organizations in accommodating overall diversity variances. In the end, it is all about accepting and supporting the difference of individuals which make the organization better, strong, and more competitive in the