The Beard or the Job With a diverse workforce comes a plethora of religious beliefs, practices, and observances. As stated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against employees and potential employees based on nationality, gender, race, color, or religion. Further, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious beliefs and observances, as long as the accommodations do not cause the organization undue hardship in their business. Presented the case of Siddiq Abu-Bakris against the School District of Philadelphia where the employer failed to reasonably accommodate his religious beliefs and practices.
Siddiq Abu-Bakris vs The School District of Philadelphia Siddiq Abu-Bakris was a school police officer in the district for more than 27 years with no performance issues (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). …show more content…
In accordance to his Islamic faith he had grown a beard during his entire tenure with the district and the beard was longer than one-quarter of an inch. According to court documents, the school district implemented a new grooming policy that restricted school police officers from having a beard longer than one-quarter of an inch (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Abu-Bakris requested accommodation based upon his religious belief and instead of granting the wished, the school district issued diciplinary action for not adhereing to the districts grooming policy(2014). Moreover, the district regularly denies any accommodation requests which pertains to beard grooming (2014). This suit was executed based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where the school district violated Abu-Bakris rights of accommodation under his religious beliefs and practices. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate when it comes to employment matters based on religion, in this case that is exactly what the school district did by not providing reasonable accommodation to Abu-Bakris for his beard. Additionally, the school had done so as a course of action in other situations where religious beard accommodations had been requested. This suit settled out of court with an undisclosed monetary compensation to Abu-Bakris and two other employee’s in the same situation (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). In addition to the financial settlement, the school district agreed to develop and distribute a revised school police officer proper attire and appearance policy, develop a procedure by which school police officers can request a religious accommodation, and provide mandatory training on religious accommodation to all supervisors, managers, human resources officials (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Further, the school district agreed to notify other police officers that they would reconsider any grooming accommodation request of the past. As part of the accommodation, the school might request the beards are clean and neatly trimmed as not to cause a situation that is unpleasant to others. However, depending on the individual and what sect of Islam he follows, this may not be an option. Some sects believe it is wrong to appear unkempt and disheveled, while others believe that the obligation is to leave the beard completely uncut (Kabbani, 2014). At the same time, the Prophet states that Allaah loves beauty and therefore whoever has hair he must take care of it (Muhammad & al-Munajjid, 2015). In generally, society would expect the beard to be well taken care of and groomed. Employer Advantages One advantage the employer might be able to capitalize on is the aspect of society’s safety and well-being. According to Pitt (2013) restriction of one’s ability to manifest their religion or belief might take place when it is “necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others” (p. 398). In reality, our society has always supported protecting of the greater good over the needs of the one. Additionally, when an organization implements a policy after the …show more content…
As companies labor over providing the best accommodation for their workers, they must understand and support the religion nuances of many. Establishing strong policies and procedures, comprehensive training, and general acceptance of difference are comportments to assist organizations in accommodating overall diversity variances. In the end, it is all about accepting and supporting the difference of individuals which make the organization better, strong, and more competitive in the
Siddiq Abu-Bakris vs The School District of Philadelphia Siddiq Abu-Bakris was a school police officer in the district for more than 27 years with no performance issues (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). …show more content…
In accordance to his Islamic faith he had grown a beard during his entire tenure with the district and the beard was longer than one-quarter of an inch. According to court documents, the school district implemented a new grooming policy that restricted school police officers from having a beard longer than one-quarter of an inch (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Abu-Bakris requested accommodation based upon his religious belief and instead of granting the wished, the school district issued diciplinary action for not adhereing to the districts grooming policy(2014). Moreover, the district regularly denies any accommodation requests which pertains to beard grooming (2014). This suit was executed based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where the school district violated Abu-Bakris rights of accommodation under his religious beliefs and practices. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate when it comes to employment matters based on religion, in this case that is exactly what the school district did by not providing reasonable accommodation to Abu-Bakris for his beard. Additionally, the school had done so as a course of action in other situations where religious beard accommodations had been requested. This suit settled out of court with an undisclosed monetary compensation to Abu-Bakris and two other employee’s in the same situation (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). In addition to the financial settlement, the school district agreed to develop and distribute a revised school police officer proper attire and appearance policy, develop a procedure by which school police officers can request a religious accommodation, and provide mandatory training on religious accommodation to all supervisors, managers, human resources officials (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). Further, the school district agreed to notify other police officers that they would reconsider any grooming accommodation request of the past. As part of the accommodation, the school might request the beards are clean and neatly trimmed as not to cause a situation that is unpleasant to others. However, depending on the individual and what sect of Islam he follows, this may not be an option. Some sects believe it is wrong to appear unkempt and disheveled, while others believe that the obligation is to leave the beard completely uncut (Kabbani, 2014). At the same time, the Prophet states that Allaah loves beauty and therefore whoever has hair he must take care of it (Muhammad & al-Munajjid, 2015). In generally, society would expect the beard to be well taken care of and groomed. Employer Advantages One advantage the employer might be able to capitalize on is the aspect of society’s safety and well-being. According to Pitt (2013) restriction of one’s ability to manifest their religion or belief might take place when it is “necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others” (p. 398). In reality, our society has always supported protecting of the greater good over the needs of the one. Additionally, when an organization implements a policy after the …show more content…
As companies labor over providing the best accommodation for their workers, they must understand and support the religion nuances of many. Establishing strong policies and procedures, comprehensive training, and general acceptance of difference are comportments to assist organizations in accommodating overall diversity variances. In the end, it is all about accepting and supporting the difference of individuals which make the organization better, strong, and more competitive in the