It will help employers and employees in dealing with religious accommodations in the workplace.
Baltimore, Md (KM) A virtual Training Session on religious accommodations in the workplace is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6th. It’s sponsored by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. “It is an opportunity to learn about what it looks like to accommodate religion in the workplace, and what discrimination based on religion looks like,”: says Dia Drake Sprague, Director of Education and Outreach for the Commission.
The session, which will take place on Wednesday from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM, will be presented in a Zoom format. Anyone who wants to participate needs to sign up by Tuesday, December 5th at 12:00 noon. They can do so by going to the Commission’s website at mccr.maryland.gov.
Sprague says religious accommodation in the workplace could include providing an employee with days off to observe their faith, or allow a change in uniform policy. “It could allow altering a policy that prohibits the wearing of a head coverings in the work place to allow someone to wear a head covering as part of their religious beliefs,” she says.
The session will talk about what religious discrimination in the workplace looks like, along with some of the different religions and the difficulties that could be in the workplace for a particular faith. “We’ll also talk about some accommodation examples, and how that looks in practice,” Sprague says. “And then we’ll provide some best practices as to what employers can do as they’re looking to work with people of different religions, different cultures, and how that can be accommodated to provide an inclusive workplace.”
Sprague says this is a good time of year to discuss this issue as there are other holidays during the month of December besides Christmas and Hanukkah.
By Kevin McManus