religious accommodation request letter sample

American University will make good faith efforts to provide reasonable religious accommodations to students whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a university policy, procedure, or other academic requirement unless such an accommodation would create an undue hardship. Washington, DC 20507 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's template is the same one the agency uses for its own employees, and was part of a Thursday update to . I therefore respectfully request that you make an accommodation for my religious belief, observance, and practice in keeping with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the guidelines of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by allowing me to leave work on the Fridays in question just prior to sundown. Train managers to recognize religious exemption requests and to refer them to HR. It is your responsibility to make sure your employer has received the letter, and it is your responsibility to follow it up to make sure that your requested changes have been made. Work on Sunday or holidays in place of Saturday. Ths request should include relevant information such as: Once a request is submitted, the University Chaplain will initiate an interactive process to determine if the request can be accommodated as requested and, if not, what, if any, alternative arrangements can be made. The University Chaplain will also consult with others related to the student's request. In an effort to meet individual students needs, Housing Operations will work directly with the Office of Institutional Equity and the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life for assigning students who are approved for religion-based housing accommodations.To request a religious-based housing accommodation, students should submit the Homewood Campus: University Housing Religious Accommodation Request Form to the Office of Institutional Equity by the following deadlines based on their class. An employer must try to arrange to allow the employee to meet these religious obligations. Kosher Meal Plans: The university offers severalKosher meal plan optionsthat can be used at the The Taam Tov section of theHopkins Cafe. Learn how SHRM Certification can accelerate your career growth by earning a SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP. I identify as an observing [religious affiliation], and I am writing to request that you make accommodation for my religious observance this semester in accordance with the college's attendance policy. Secular activitiesshopping, sports, employment, and entertainmentare laid aside. Once a religious objection to taking a vaccine is established, an employer has a duty to accommodate that religious belief up to the point of undue hardship. 4. The Jedi religion is listed by the military as one of more than 200 religions it recognizes. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Request for Accommodation of Religious Practice SAMPLE 1. Sitting or standing for long periods of time in the same position is causing increased pain and is decreasing my mobility. A reasonable religious academic/workplace accommodation is a change in the academic/work environment or in the way academics, tasks or responsibilities are customarily done that enables a student orfaculty/staff[1]to participate in theirreligious practice or belief without undue hardship on the conduct of theUniversity's business or operation. Employers are supposed to start out with the assumption that the employee's religious belief is sincere. CBP Applicant: An applicant requesting religious accommodation for any stage of the application process must submit a request for religious accommodation to the Indianapolis or Minneapolis Hiring Center, as applicable. Religious Accommodation Request Form A reasonable religious accommodation is a change in the work environment or in the way tasks or responsibilities are customarily done that enables an employee to participate in their religious practice or belief without undue hardship on the conduct of the university's business or operation. Employees requesting a religious accommodation shall immediately contact their local Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator. Since our company operates on the basis of a five-day workweek, Monday through Friday, there has not been any problem in my work schedule regarding having the hours of the Sabbath off. If employers get an accommodation request from a believer in a religion that is so obscure there's no faith leader, Bunting recommended asking the employee to e-mail HR a paragraph describing why the worker needs to be accommodated for religious reasons, judging its sincerity and, if determined to be sincere, granting the accommodation. In Washington, the exemption approval process is largely left up to individual departments to approve exemptions and provide accommodations, and it could . If an employee is resisting an employer-required COVID-19 vaccine because it was derived from fetal cell lines, the employer might ask whether the employee has received a flu vaccine or has ever taken a medication that was similarly createdand there are many, including aspirin. Below I have included some possible ideas that could help at my workstation. If that effort fails or if the particular University office has questions, students may submit an online request for reasonable religious accommodations. [1] Faculty/staff are hereafter referred to as employee(s).[2] Students who cannot take a quiz, test, or final exam on a scheduled date due to a religious observance must inform OIE of any conflicts before the semesters add/drop deadline, or as soon as possible after a particular assignment or examination date is announced. For instance, your company may have a certain dress code that you cannot adhere to, expect you to work on what is classed as a day of rest in your religion, and so on. Hence, your letter should also explain how your request will only pose a minor burden. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Employers can push backgentlyon religious accommodation requests and don't have to grant requests that would result in an undue hardship, which is much easier for employers to show for religious accommodation requests than disability accommodation requests. {Your Loan #}. I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and I observe the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Describe what you expect this reasonable accommodation to be. REQUEST FOR RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION / ACCOMMODATION RELATED TO [COMPANY NAME'S] COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY by offering opportunities for discussion, reminding people of available support services, and leading at a difficult time with compassion and empathy. Employer Letter Example: Vaccine Mandate Objection No authorship claim or copyright asserted.A letter that also came to me via a route like a letter in a bottle. The law requires that educational institutions must develop policies to accommodate student absences to allow students to take holidays for reasons of faith or conscience or for organized . The first step in requesting an accommodation in the workplace is to decide how to make the request. If there is more than one option, the student affairs representative or employer will balance a student oremployees expressed preference with operational or academic considerations.Religious accommodations can take many forms. Your signature Questions regarding applying for housing should be directed to Housing Operations at (410) 516-7960 or housing@jhu.edu. Companies, however, have a leg up on public-sector employers when it comes to dealing with religious challenges to vaccine mandates. A lock ( A request for a religious accommodation for housing must document: A request for a religious accommodation for dining must be made at the earliest possible opportunity after admission. This site contains User-Generated Content, meaning any and all information and content that a user submits to the Site. But for employees who need more ideas, the following examples offer additional guidance about how to communicate the need for an accommodation for various types of medical conditions. {Your Name} Thank you for considering my request. 6. An official website of the United States government. An employee may how the accommodation will help resolve the conflict between your religious beliefs or practices and a university policy, procedure, or other requirement. However, I cannot receive a COVID-19 vaccine because to do so would violate my sincerely held religious beliefs. When the economy is unstable, employers are faced with difficult decisions around staffing, pay and benefits. This isn't really a religious request, so the employer can push back and request a letter from a faith leader, she said. T hank you for considering my request. Unlike with disability accommodations, cost often may be a winning undue hardship argument for employers when religious accommodations are requested. } whether the employee requesting a religious accommodation to a Covid-19 vaccination requirement works outdoors or indoors; whether the employee works in a solitary or group work setting, or has . {Your Address} Student Vaccine ExceptionRequests:Whenever possible, students should submit vaccine exceptionrequests to OIE at least 30 days in advance of Pre-Entrance Health Requirement Deadlines and OIE will do its best to respond in a timely manner. If accommodation is easy, do it," said Kelly Dobbs Bunting, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig in Philadelphia, speaking at the SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference 2022on March 30 in Washington, D.C. %PDF-1.3 Ashanti McShan, a 17-year old high-school student, was excited about her first day of work at Burger King. Be aware of differences in state law. Employees may also request workplace adjustments based on other COVID-19 circumstances not related to being in the increased risk category. The University may request the student provide information to support the need for an accommodation based on the student's sincerely held religious belief. In addition, it . Other objective reasons that a request isn't for religious reasons might include if the worker says he or she only puts organic substances into his or her body, defining organic substances as those that come from dirt. The VMS will be accessible via the myJH portal when it goes live on July 1. LockA locked padlock Employer's name 5. If an employer has tried everything else, unpaid leave is acceptable. If students are sabbath-observant, they must make this fact known to their professors for any course in which Saturday work is required. The law requires that employees and employers engage in the Interactive Process. 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone), Call 1-800-669-4000 Date of Letter University of Washington Religious Accommodations Policy. For that reason, I am requesting a religious accommodation, under Title VII and any similar [state where employer located] state law (s), that will excuse me from having to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and further request that no adverse employment action be taken against me on account of my religious beliefs. Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks. Governor Jay Inslee is requiring thousands of employees to get . Religious Accommodation Request - Template Back Top Rising sophomores (Class of 2025): Thursday, March 3, 2022, Incoming students (Class of 2026 and transfer sophomores): TBD. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. It is difficult to say with certainty how long it can take to process requests, as many factors could impact timing (i.e., volume, complexity and availability of the student for follow up questions and/or their ability to timely provide supporting documentation). a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. As a starting point, JAN offers general guidance about writing an accommodation request letter, which lays out possible elements to include in the body of the letter. Whenever possible, such requests should be submitted no less than 30 days in advance of the desired accommodation. I am a practicing member of {Religion}. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organizations culture, industry, and practices. However, writing such an initial request can feel intimidating and employees can get nervous about what to include in the letter and how to word it. x][s} d =@_(3"I7ZqOnmY.=s@C`0NT6_w5_/O?a(Km~]Wy]]? I am enrolled in your course [course number]. That being said, you should write your exemption letter in your own words according . He has requested a schedule that would accommodate his religious observance of . how the accommodation will help resolve the conflict between your religious beliefs or practices and a university policy, procedure, or other academic requirement. Manager Responsibilities - Reasonable Accommodation Tips, 131 M Street, NE If the employer discovers the employee lied, then the employer has an additional factor to consider.

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