The issue of religion has become a controversial issue in the working environments. Employees want the people to work so that they can benefit to the maximum. However, employees are demanding some freedom to exercise their religious beliefs. In the case McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, an employer was required to allow the employee not to work on a sunday. The plaintiff in this case was required by the employee to report to work on Sunday. When he failed to do so, he was taken to the court for breach of employment contract. The employee had the intention to dismiss the employee. In the court, the plaintiff referred to the canons of Catholic Church that prohibits individuals from working on a Sunday. In response, the court concluded that the fact that the employee believes that he should no work on Sunday means that the employer must allow such employee to worship regardless of whether the beliefs are found in the canons or not. This is a case where the activities of an employer were interfered with due to the beliefs of an employee.
According to equal employment opportunity commission, the beliefs of an individual should be respected regardless of the fact that they are unique and different from those of the others. People hold different beliefs even though they possess the same religion. In this case, it is possible that some people who worship on a Sunday are willing to work, as the employer requires. However, the defendant in the case has special beliefs that should be respected regardless of the fact that others do not follow it. In this regard, the employer is required to respect the belief of this employee and allow him to be out of work on a Sunday.
The commission requires that employees should not be harassed based on their religion. They cannot be threatened for following their beliefs. The rule that employees should report to work on a Sunday did not exist. It was just brought by the employer for the gain of the organisation. However, the employee in the case had stated to the employer that the requirement to work on Sunday was in conflict with his religious beliefs. According to the requirements of equal employment and opportunity commission, informing the employer about the conflict between employment requirement and religious belief is important in determining whether the case is reasonable. In this case, this was obeyed by the employee.
The commission requires reasonable accommodation. This is important in ensuring that the employers do not lose a lot due to the religious practices of the employees. In this case, the employee wanted a swap so that even though he did not work on a Sunday, he would compensate the hours not worked by working for additional hours during the other days. In this case, the request for accommodation does not give any hardship to the employer since the employee will be compensating for hours not worked for the benefit of the employer. This shows that the search for the accommodation was reasonable and the employer would have considered the request to protect the beliefs of the employee.
In this case, the prove of discrimination is clearly represented. According to the equal employment opportunity commission, certain conditions must be proved to show that there is discrimination. These includes factors such as prove of belief, harassment due to conflict between religious belief and work activities and reasonable accommodation. Considering that the employee was informed about the belief, there was reasonable request for accommodation and the employee felt harassed due to work conditions means that the employee was facing discrimination in the work place which is what the commission fights against. It can be concluded that the court’s decision was made for the best interest of the equal employment opportunity commission and the employee.
References.
Foster, S. (2011). Civil rights investigations under the Workforce Investment Act and other Title VI-related laws: From intake to final determination. Denver, Co: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Twomey, D. P. (2007). Labor & employment law: Text & cases. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/West.
