How-to guide: How to make accommodations for religious belief or practice (USA)

Introduction

This guide will help in-house counsel, private practice lawyers and human resource departments to understand and comply with legal requirements relating to accommodations for religious belief or practice.

This guide covers:

Overview of legal framework
Common and emerging issues
Employer best practices

This guide can be used in conjunction with the following How-to guides: Overview of US employment law, How to draft the key provisions of an employee handbook and Overview of workplace harassment and Checklist: Developing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) compliant policy.

Section 1 – Overview of legal framework

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender or national origin. The Civil Rights Act applies to employers with more than 15 employees, including private employers, state and local government units, certain religious organizations, labor organizations and educational institutions (29 CFR, section 1635.2(c)(1)).

In addition, state and local laws may impose obligations on employers to protect the religious rights of employees.

1.1 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Title VII prohibits employers from treating employees or job applicants unfavorably due to their religious beliefs, practices or observations.

Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for the religious practice of employees, unless such accommodations cause undue hardship to the employer (as defined at 29 CFR, section 1605.2(e)). Accommodations may include adjusting work schedules, modifying dress codes, providing places for daily prayer, or other actions to accommodate an employee's religious observances, for example:

modifying dress and grooming standards to allow for beards for Muslim men, turbans for Sikhs, and hijabs for Muslim women; and
scheduling time off for religious observances, such as Ramadan or Yom Kippur.

Title VII also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who assert their rights under it (29 CFR, Part 1605).

1.1.1 Definition of religion

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing Title VII. The EEOC is empowered to investigate complaints of religious discrimination, provide guidance to employers and employees and to take legal action when necessary to protect individuals from religious discrimination in the workplace. For further information about the EEOC, see Checklist: Responding to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge.

The EEOC provides guidance on religious discrimination in Section 12: Religious Discrimination. In the guidance, the EEOC provides a broad definition of religion, stating that a religion need not be a widely practiced faith, such as Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism, and that persons who practice no religion are also protected by Title VII. However, the EEOC also states that ‘mere personal preferences are not religious beliefs.’

Under Title VII, ‘A belief’ is ‘religious’ … if it is ‘religious’ in the person’s ‘own scheme of things,’ ie, it is a ‘sincere and meaningful’ belief that ‘occupies a place in the life of its possessor parallel to that filled by … God.’ (see guidance, at 1. Religion).

1.1.2 The duty to provide an accommodation

Guidance issued by the EEOC regarding religious discrimination provides that employers need not provide an accommodation ‘unless they are on notice that one is needed for religious purposes.’ In the normal course of events, an employer establishes the conditions of employment, and the onus is on the employee to identify to the employer that an accommodation is needed for religious reasons. The EEOC guidance further provides that an employer is in violation of Title VII if the employer engages in any activity, such as refusing to hire an applicant, that seeks to circumvent the possibility of an accommodation being sought.

When an employee requests an accommodation there is no specific language that must be used. The employee need only express in plain language that there may be some sort of conflict with the practices/working conditions of the employer and their religious faith. An employer may seek additional information from the employee before granting the accommodation.

1.1.3 Undue hardship

What constitutes a ‘reasonable accommodation’ is fact specific. Prior to 2023, even a ‘de minimus’ cost to the employer was generally deemed sufficient to establish that a requested accommodation was an undue hardship and therefore could justify a denial of a reasonable accommodation request.

In June 2023, the US Supreme Court in Groff v DeJoy 600 US 447 (2023), increased the burden on employers. Under the standard established in Groff, an employer that denies a particular religious accommodation must show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs or substantial additional expenditures in relation to the conduct of the employer’s particular business. The relevant impact to be considered is the impact on the employer. The possible impact on co-workers is relevant only to the extent that the impact will affect the conduct of the business.

Employers should review their policies and procedures to ensure they are up to date in the wake of Groff and do not rely on the previous standard which was more deferential to employers.

1.2 Other laws

Both state and local laws may also impose obligations on employers to protect the religious rights of employees. Some state laws are stricter than Title VII.

For example, the New York State Human Rights Law applies to all employers in the state. (Human Rights Law, section 292). The New York law makes it unlawful ‘to impose upon a person as a condition of obtaining or retaining employment, including opportunities for promotion, advancement or transfers, any terms or conditions that would require such person to violate or forego a sincerely held practice of his or her religion ...’.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes it illegal for any company employing five or more people to discriminate against job applicants or employees in relation to:

advertising, applications, screening and interviewing;
hiring, promotion and termination;
working conditions and compensation; and
participation in apprentice programs, unions or employee organizations.

Applying the Supreme Court's Groff v DeJoy ruling on undue hardship in religious accommodation cases, an Indiana federal court in Kluge v Brownsburg Community Sch Corp, No. 1:19-cv-02462 (S.D. Ind. Apr. 30, 2024) rejected a former teacher's religious discrimination claim against Brownsburg Community School Corp. (BCSC). The court granted summary judgment to BCSC, finding that an accommodation causing substantial harm to students and unreasonable liability risk is an undue burden.

The case involved orchestra teacher John Kluge, a devout Christian, who objected to using transgender students' preferred names and pronouns. BCSC initially allowed him to use only last names for all students. However, the school revoked this accommodation, finding it negatively impacted transgender students' well-being and the learning environment for others. BCSC argued this conflicted with its goal of a safe, inclusive environment. Kluge sued for failure to accommodate his religious beliefs.

The court, applying Groff's standard that undue hardship requires a substantial increase in business costs, considered BCSC's mission to provide education in a supportive environment for all students. It agreed that the last-names-only accommodation created an undue burden by harming transgender students (supported by their testimony and complaints from others) and disrupting the learning environment. The court also found an unreasonable risk of liability, noting Title VII doesn't require accommodations placing employers on the ‘razor's edge’ of lawsuits, especially concerning potential Title IX violations that could jeopardize school funding.

The ruling emphasizes that religious accommodations must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and employers can deny those causing substantial increased business costs.

Section 2 – Common and emerging issues

Some of the issues that most commonly arise in the workplace relating to religious accommodations are explained below.

2.1 Leave and working hours

There is nothing to prevent employees from using any paid leave entitlement for religious observances, as long as their use of paid leave is consistent with the employer’s policies. When paid leave has been exhausted, employees are authorized to use unpaid leave, comp time (ie, compensatory time off) or shift switching, as long as those accommodations do not cause an undue burden on the employer (see Office of Personnel Management fact sheet).

Under the guidance provided by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), employees may also reasonably request that their normal breaks are rescheduled to accommodate their religious practices (such as time for prayer) and may reasonably request not to work certain days (eg, days that might coincide with the religious Sabbath of a particular faith).

Under recent federal guidance, the OPM has urged agencies to take a broadly permissive approach to religious accommodations and to protect religious expression in the federal workplace. The guidance explicitly highlights low-cost options — including telework, flexible scheduling, shift swaps and rescheduling of breaks for prayer — and directs agencies to document a good-faith interactive process when deciding requests. The memos emphasize that denials should be supported by evidence of a substantial operational impact, not mere inconvenience, and that agencies should review and update internal policies accordingly. Employers (and particularly federal employers) should therefore treat requests to reschedule breaks, swap shifts or avoid specific days with renewed scrutiny and clear documentation.

2.2 Dress and appearance

The EEOC provides a fact sheet dealing with accommodations that arise from the religious dress and grooming practices of applicants and employees. As a rule, such accommodations must be made by employers unless:

they cause an undue burden to the employer;
they violate health and safety standards of the workplace; or
they violate a seniority system already in place at the organization.

Employers should note that EEOC fact sheets are not legally binding documents; however, they do provide a strong indication of how the EEOC will seek to enforce the relevant law.

2.3 Vaccinations

In recent years, objections to the various Covid-19 vaccines (and other types of vaccination) have proliferated. The increase in related claims prompted the EEOC to issue a fact sheet on the subject and EEOC guidance on vaccinations (at Section L).

As in all cases when a religious accommodation is requested, an employee seeking an accommodation relating to a vaccine must inform the employer of their request. Employers should proceed under the assumption that the request for accommodation is based on a sincerely held belief unless the employer has an ‘objective basis’ for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of the request. The employer may request further information before granting the accommodation.

In August 2025, the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations issued decisions in two federal-sector appellate cases:

Augustine V. v Department of Veterans Affairs (Appeal No. 2023004016) – where the Department was found to have unlawfully failed to provide the claimant with an effective reasonable accommodation for her religious practice of attending a weekly prayer service on a Friday; and
Andy B. v Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Appeal No. 2023002014) – where the Federal Reserve was found to have unlawfully failed to accommodate police officer’s request for exemption from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the basis of their religious beliefs. Of particular note, the EEOC found that the Federal Reserve had failed to evidence that providing a reasonable accommodation would impose an undue hardship on it and criticized its apparent lack of engagement with the complainant concerning his request. It also found the Federal Reserve vicariously liable for harassment received by the complainant from other employees, as it failed to take any corrective action after the incidents were reported.

These decisions underscore the EEOC's continued commitment to ensuring employers provide employees with effective reasonable accommodations in the workplace in relation to their religious beliefs. State law may also be relevant. Nebraska law, Neb Rev Stat section 48-239, for example, requires employers to provide an exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements for any employee who has a ‘sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance’ that would prohibit them from being vaccinated against COVID-19. Tennessee law Tenn Code Ann section 14-6-105, similarly requires employers to exempt employees from mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations if those possess ‘a sincerely held religious belief that prevents the staff member from complying with the requirement …’.

2.4 Mandated training

Recently, religious accommodations have been suggested as a means for employees to avoid certain work-mandated trainings, particularly diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The 8th Circuit recently revived a lawsuit brought by two plaintiffs for discrimination and retaliation after their employer denied their request to sit out gender identity training (Aaron Norgren v Minnesota Dept of H.S., 96 F.4th 1048 (8th Cir. 2024)). While not directly involving a failure to accommodate claim, the case will have important implications in that respect due to the facts involved.

Testing the applicability of religious accommodations to opt out of workplace training is an emerging issue to keep an eye on, though no broadly applicable guidance has yet emerged.

Section 3 – Employer best practices

It is best practice for employers to develop and implement a centralized process to manage requests for religious accommodations. This process should include a policy or outline that indicates:

how an employee is to file a request; and
how the employer and its officers are to consider and respond to that request.

3.1 Decision-making process

All requests should be made in writing on a standard form drafted by the employer. The request and review process should document all steps taken, including the information that the employer’s officers relied upon in making their decisions. The employer decision-making process should be consistent in managing requests and in the criteria used to make preliminary and final decisions.

The approval or denial process should assess each request on its own factual merits. Decision-makers should avoid making assumptions about what constitutes a ‘religious belief’ and what the best accommodation should be.

It is within the employer’s rights to consider the operational and financial impact of any religious accommodation requests.

3.2 Record-keeping

Each request for religious accommodation should be retained within the employee’s personnel file, including details of any potential impacts on the employer that were considered during the decision-making process.

Additional resources

Congressional Research Service, Supreme Court Considers Religious Accommodations in the Workplace (May 2023)
EEOC Compliance Manual, Section 12: Religious Discrimination
Yucheng Jiang, Fordham Urban Law Journal, Reasonable Accommodation and Disparate Impact: Clean Shave Policy Discrimination in Today’s Workplace (2022)

Filed under

Topics

Discrimination

How-to guide: How to make accommodations for religious belief or practice (USA)

Introduction

Section 1 – Overview of legal framework

1.1 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

1.1.1 Definition of religion

1.1.2 The duty to provide an accommodation

1.1.3 Undue hardship

1.2 Other laws

Section 2 – Common and emerging issues

2.1 Leave and working hours

2.2 Dress and appearance

2.3 Vaccinations

2.4 Mandated training

Section 3 – Employer best practices

3.1 Decision-making process

3.2 Record-keeping

Additional resources

Related Lexology PRO content

How-to guides:

Checklists:

Filed under

Topics

Discrimination

USA

Employment & Labor

Related contract templates:

Introduction

Section 1 – Overview of legal framework

1.1 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

1.1.1 Definition of religion

1.1.2 The duty to provide an accommodation

1.1.3 Undue hardship

1.2 Other laws

Section 2 – Common and emerging issues

2.1 Leave and working hours

2.2 Dress and appearance

2.3 Vaccinations

2.4 Mandated training

Section 3 – Employer best practices

3.1 Decision-making process

3.2 Record-keeping

Additional resources

Related Lexology PRO content

How-to guides:

Checklists:

Filed under

Topics