The religious beliefs of employees are their private matter and employers cannot discriminate against them for these as per Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ground reality, however, is different for many religious people and specifically for women employees. A significant number of them report experiencing some form of religious discrimination at their workplace. Given how a person’s identity is woven into their religious beliefs, such discriminatory treatment can cause mental distress and affect productivity.

If you have or are currently experiencing religious discrimination in your workplace and your employer refuses to help, you should consult a competent lawyer regarding the matter. Find one through recommendation or by searching online for “lawyer for religious discrimination LA.”

Understanding religious discrimination in the workplace

When your employer, co-worker, or anyone connected with the company treats you offensively on account of your religious beliefs, they are subjecting you to religious discrimination. Here are some examples of such discriminatory behavior:

• They make spiteful, taunting remarks about your religion, religious beliefs, and religious practices.

• They use your religious beliefs as an excuse to deny you a well-deserved promotion or salary hike.

• They demote or fire you from your position due to your religious beliefs.

• They cite your religion for excluding you from work meetings, conferences, training programs, projects, and trips.

• They deliberately sabotage your work to make you look bad and spread rumors to give people a wrong idea about your character.

• They refuse to make reasonable accommodations for your beliefs, even when it does not interfere with the company’s work operations.

Why does religious discrimination target women?

The most common targets of religious discrimination are women. In general, it is easier to victimize women than men. Religious women, in particular, may be likely to be more pacific and unwilling to get into a conflict. They may think that it is not worthwhile to stir up trouble in the workplace by confronting the harassers.

They may also be intimidated if the harasser happens to be higher in the company hierarchy than them. They may fear losing their job and the family income if the matter gets out of hand. To prevent that, they may keep quiet and try to ignore the discriminatory treatment.

If this describes your situation, you need to understand that staying silent will not resolve the issue. In fact, it might exacerbate things and create a toxic work environment that could leave you feeling anxious, afraid, and intimidated on a regular basis. It would heighten your stress levels and affect your health. It could also affect your ability to work well and end up taking a toll on your career. Additionally, it would send out a message that it is okay to bully you and that the bullies will face no repercussions.

You might decide to give up the job, but what if you face a similar situation in your next one? You can hardly go about changing jobs at the drop of a hat. Rather than risk ruining your career, it is a better idea to safeguard your legal rights by making proper use of the employment laws in California.

What are your legal options in dealing with religious discrimination?

The first thing you should do if you are facing religious discrimination is to collect verifiable evidence of the harassment. Next, you should inform your manager of the harassment and file a formal complaint with the company’s HR department. If the employer fails to take action, you can file a claim with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. A lawyer is not necessary for this, but having legal representation can benefit you if you have to file a lawsuit.

Search online for “lawyer for religious discrimination LA” to find a competent lawyer in your area. Many lawyers offer a free initial consultation and take cases on a contingency basis. You only need to pay them after they win the case for you and then they will take an agreed-upon percentage of the compensation. Be sure to ask in advance about any additional expenses that you might have to foot.