Religious and politcal expression
GLC
174 Posts
What are the laws in regards to religious and political expression at work? We have an employee who has her office full of religious items such as a bible, a picture of Jesus on the wall, etc. She is a counselor so patients come to her office. We are concerned that patients who are not as religious as her might get offended. What at all can we tell her about this? Can we ask her to take them out of the office or should we just talk to her about the perception from patients? Is this considered a religious accommodation?
What about political expression? I don't know of an accommdation for this. We have an employee who put "Go BUSH" on her office door. Some EEs have been offended.
What about political expression? I don't know of an accommdation for this. We have an employee who put "Go BUSH" on her office door. Some EEs have been offended.
Comments
Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer may not place more restrictions on religious expression than on other forms of expression that have a comparable effect on workplace efficiency.
Here is the link: [url]http://www.eeoc.gov/types/religion.html[/url]
Most of the world considers Jesus a great moral teacher at the very least.
Would you have her take down a photo of Confuscius or Oprah?
The law seems clear to me. You cant pick and choose what expression you prohibit without showing undue hardship.
The poster hasn't indicated anything that would constitute undue hardship yet. It doesn't even sound like anyone has really even complained.
However, given her role as a counselor, she does have a position of influence over the patients. In this case, I think a legitimate exception can be made and you do have an arguement to prohibit her from hanging photographs that would potentially influence the clients even if no one has complained. (It could be no one complained because of her role of influence and power over them.)
The other question I have is - Is her religious and political beliefs influencing how she counsels her patients? Is the content of her counseling consistent with the policy of your institution?
Good luck!