Civil Rights Act – Title VII
(j) The term “religion” includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer – (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; READ MORE>>
Impact of Title VII
Among other applications, Title VII impacts the ability of religious organizations to retain their religious values in hiring practices.
The Act also has featured prominently in recent court cases over the definition of “sex discrimination.”
A recent Supreme Court case, Harris v. EEOC, examines whether or not the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may expand the biological understanding of “sex discrimination” to include gender identity and to penalize an employer on that basis.