New Jersey Religious Discrimination Lawyer
Religion is a very personal thing. Regardless of your personal beliefs–or lack thereof–federal and state law protects you from discrimination in the workplace based on religion. This not only protects you from being fired due to religious considerations, in many cases it means your employer must also make a reasonable accommodation for your sincerely held ethical beliefs.
Unfortunately, many employers do not understand or appreciate the need to be proactive when it comes to treating all faiths and religious beliefs equally in the workplace. To the contrary, many employers openly practice or condone religious discrimination. If you have been the victim of such practices it is important to stand up for yourself by working with an experienced New Jersey religious discrimination lawyer who can help you in asserting your rights under the law.
Religious Discrimination Takes Many Forms
Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) both prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of religion. It is important to note that “religion” broadly applies to a person’s fundamental ethical and spiritual beliefs. You do not have to belong to an established or mainstream religious group to enjoy protection under the law. For that matter, you can be an atheist and still be subject to illegal religious discrimination for failing to adhere to a particular belief system.
Religious discrimination can therefore take many forms, including but not limited to:
- refusing to hire a job applicant because of their membership or non-membership in a particular religious organization;
- asking job applicants about their religious beliefs during the interview process;
- favoring members of a particular religion when it comes to promotions or other job-related benefits;
- promoting harassment or a hostile work environment towards particular employees based on religious beliefs;
- failing to provide reasonable accommodation for an employee’s religious beliefs or practices when requested; or
- committing any discriminatory act based on the perception that an employee belongs to a particular religion even if they are not.
Religious discrimination cases are often tricky because an employer is only required to accommodate and not discriminate against an employee based on a “sincerely held” belief. Determining whether a belief is sincere can only be determined on a case-by-case basis, although there are certain legal guidelines followed by federal and state regulators when assessing claims of religious discrimination. A qualified religious discrimination attorney can help you in determining the exact scope of your claim in this respect.
New Jersey Religious Discrimination Lawyers Serving Ocean, Monmouth & Middlesex County
Although we would all like to believe that America is a land of religious freedom and diversity, in reality far too many workers continue to face problems at work due to preconceived ideas about religion. And if you are on the receiving end of such preconceptions, your only option for relief may be to initiate legal action. We can help. If you need to speak with a qualified NJ religious discrimination lawyer, contact Poulos LoPiccolo PC today to schedule an initial consultation.
