For many years, around the holiday season, I have written cautionary tales from “The Jewish Guy Who Wear A Chai.” Chai is the number 18 in Hebrew and means life.
This year, I was reluctant to use the title. For the first time in a long time, I have been the target of antisemitism. Then, there was the massacre of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
Nearly four years ago, I blogged here about a complaint that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had filed against a West Virginia coal company. The lawsuit alleged that the employer failed to accommodate an employee who requested not to use a biometric hand scanner to track time and attendance.
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that an employer that does not know that a job applicant may need a religious accommodation can discriminate against that job applicant. All that matters are the employer’s motivations.
Allow me to explain.
It’s not what you know; it’s what motivates you.
Prayer Breaks, Flexible Hours Helpful During Ramadan
Supreme Court Rules for EEOC in Religious Accommodation Case
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the California law that addresses the rights of individuals with regard to religion and the obligations of employers. The FEHA provides protection from discrimination in employment because of a person’s religious beliefs or creed.
For the uninitiated, yesterday was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you), so I, like so many other Star Wars fans, spent part of my day watching Star Wars, specifically Episode IV: "A New Hope." I even managed to convert my 2 year-old daughter into a brand-new Star Wars fan.
Umme-Hani Khan, 19, had been working at Abercrombie & Fitch’s Hollister store in San Mateo, Calif., for four months when a visiting district manager ordered the Muslim to remove her hijab, a religious headscarf. When she refused the order for religious reasons, Khan was fired for violating Abercrombie’s dress code.
