Religious Beliefs and Job Duties Must Conflict for Religious Discrimination Claims

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act not only protects employees from discrimination based upon their religious beliefs, but it also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees when job duties conflict with a sincerely held religious belief.

In a case that explores how religious and secular beliefs can conflict, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees may not bring religious discrimination claims based only on broad, generic religious principles underpinned by secular reasoning. The court ruled in favor of the employer who declined to provide the requested religious accommodation because the basis for the request was secular and not religious, despite the employee’s