Religion Discrimination Attorney Serving St. Louis, Missouri

Religious Discrimination in The Work Place

Missouri Human Rights Act

Under Missouri law, employers may not treat an employee, applicant for employment, or customers more or less favorably because of their religious beliefs or practices.* Employers must: 1) reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. However, the employer is not required to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs and practices if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer's legitimate business interests; 2) Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer; and 3) Employers must take steps to prevent religious harassment and discrimination of their employees. As an employee, you cannot be forced by your employer to participate, or not participate, in a religious activity as a condition of your employment.

In order to protect your rights under the Missouri Human Rights Act, you must file a Charge of Discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights within 180 days of the date of the discrimination. Failure to do so will result in the loss of your ability to protect and enforce your Constitutional right to be free from discrimination in the workplace as a result of your religious beliefs.

*The Missouri Human Rights Act applies only to those employers with 6 or more employees.

Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, (Title VII) protects individuals from being treated unfairly in an employment situation because of their religious beliefs or treating someone differently because that person is married to (or associated with) an individual of a particular religion.** These protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under Federal law, it is unlawful to discriminate against any person because of his/her sex with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.

Under Federal Law, it is unlawful to harass a person because of that person's religious beliefs or practices. Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision.

In order to protect your rights under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, you must file a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 calendar days of the date of the discrimination; or if the State in which the discrimination occurred also enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis, then you the deadline for filing your charge is 300 calendar days. Failure to do so will result in the loss of your ability to protect and enforce your Constitutional right to be free from discrimination in the workplace as a result of your sex.

**Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, applies only to employers with 15 or more employees who worked for the company for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks (in this year or last).