You have the right to be free of a hostile work environment at work. Your workplace should be civil with all people treated the same under the law. If your colleagues or supervisors treat you differently because of sincerely held religious beliefs, you may have a discrimination case against your company.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, religious discrimination is the wrongful treatment of an employee or person due to his or her religious beliefs.
What is harassment?
Harassment is any behavior that creates a hostile work environment. For example, a religious person may be subject to teasing and bullying from his or her colleagues. While isolated teasing may not always be harassment, when it often occurs and becomes such a problem that it creates an offensive work environment, it becomes harassment. In cases where you face demotion, firing or other adverse work decisions because of the hostile work environment created by your colleagues, this is discriminating.
The company also cannot segregate you from the rest of the workers or the clients. For instance, it is discrimination if a company refuses to give someone a customer-facing position because of their religion, under the impression that the clients will have problems with the religion.
How should the business accommodate religion?
Your company has to make reasonable accommodations for your religion. The company should comply if your accommodations do not create a hardship for the business. You have the right to dress according to your faith. For example, if your beliefs require you to wear a head covering, you may wear it. Likewise, you do not have to wear clothing against your beliefs.
Your company should be able to provide a flexible schedule and allow for swapped days for people of different religions to celebrate important days.
