Religious Discrimination Case

In an August 26, 2009 Press Release, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced that it filed a federal lawsuit against an automotive components company, alleging the company violated federal law by failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and by firing him because of his religion.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-26-09b.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the company allegedly refused to accommodate the employee’s religious beliefs and practices when the employee refused to submit to a random drug test involving saliva testing since he was a practicing member of the Santeria religion and the Santeria religion forbade him from submitting to such a test.   The EEOC contends as well that the employee did offer to undergo an alternative form of drug testing, but the company fired him.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees’ and applicants’ sincerely held religious beliefs as long as this does not pose an undue hardship.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said “In this case, the employer refused to provide a simple accommodation that would have enabled [the employee] to practice his religious belief and would have prevented this discrimination suit.”  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including work-related religion discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .