WATCH LIST: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007
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text:
Summary:
The Workplace
Religious Freedom Act of 2007 (H.R. 14315) would
amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by modifying the definition of
"religion" for purposes of coverage under that Act and by requiring
employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate
the religious practices of employees. It would define the term "perform
the essential functions" to exclude practices having a temporary or
tangential impact on an employee's ability to perform job functions, such as
practices relating to clothing or taking time off work and would set forth
factors to consider in determining whether an accommodation causes undue
hardship. The Act would require removal
of the conflict between employment requirements and the employee's religious
practices in order for an accommodation to be considered reasonable.