Employers may not discriminate against employees based on their religion, nor treat employees or job applicants differently, either better or worse, because of an employee's religious beliefs and practices. Employers must reasonably accommodate the genuine needs of employees to practice their faiths and may not treat an employee more or less favorably because her or she does, or does not, have a particular religion.

Being terminated, harassed, rejected for employment, or otherwise damaged in your employment because of religious beliefs and practices, or being denying a request for a reasonable accommodation for your religious beliefs, may give rise to a claim for unlawful religious discrimination.

A few examples of possible religion discrimination include,but are certainly not limited to: A company was ready to hire you until your prospective employer saw you wearing a yarmulke, or other religious clothing. You are repeatedly mocked because of your strong religious beliefs. You were fired or penalized because you missed work to observe a religious holiday.

• You were not hired by an employer because you are an atheist.
  
  
• You are told that you must come into work on the Sabbath, although your employer knows that doing so is against your faith and other employees are not required to work on Saturday.
  
  
• You are terminated and told that the reason you are being let go is because of you are not a particular religion, although your religion had never previously been a factor in your employment.
  
  
• Your are terminated after your employer has expressed a preference for employees of a particular religion or
  
  
• You suffer some kind of detriment at work, such as a demotion, cut in pay, or termination, after your new supervisor has expressed suspicion toward members of the religion to which you belong.

If you suspect that any of these, or other discriminatory practices, have occurred in your workplace, an attorney may be able to provide you with well-informed guidance and help. As in all instances of employment discrimination, we at Schwartz & Perry are always prepared to confer with you.

As long as you have a genuine belief, and a factual foundation for those beliefs, you have a reasonable basis to seek guidance from an attorney. You need not have an explicit written memo or an email that was circulated around the office stating, Let's get rid of all the _______, in order to have a claim. You must remember that your employer will not practice discrimination so openly that the proof is circulated through written emails or placed on the company website. A genuine belief based upon events, conduct, statements, environment and work atmosphere, as well as the many and varied communications that are circulated in the workplace, taken together, may permit you to present a valid argument for what you believe exists.

That is why you should confer with an attorney about your concerns and issues, and we at Schwartz & Perry will be pleased to meet with you. The initial interview is free of charge. We will be able to determine whether we believe we can help you and you will decide whether you wish to invite us to do so. If you need a top-rated employment lawyer to handle your religious discrimination case, call 212-889-6565 or contact us online.