Religious Accommodation
durasupreme
68 Posts
New situation for us - ee came to me stating she wanted/needed to take 2-3 days off in April for religious reasons (did not specify), and wanted to use the "school conferences" time that ee's here in MN are elibible for w/o having time chargeable or using vacation. I explained she could not use the religious time off for school conference time - not allowed. I just discovered she is Jewish and is likely requesting time off for Passover. Does anyone out there know what the restrictions are (such as not working, etc.) for Passover and the other Jewish holidays? Can anyone enlighten me?
Comments
As an aside, the law does not require the ee belong to an organized religion. It does require that moral, ethical or religious belief to be sincerely held. Therefore, it does not matter how anybody else practices a particular a religion, it only matters how the particular employee practices it.
We address the issue by allowing employees to observe holidays not on our schedule by taking a PTO day (vacation or personal day) or by taking an unpaid, excused absence. They have to be scheduled in advance and will be approved as long as it doesn't interfere with business.
...and then there's our own "duraSUPREME"--originator of this thread.