Glendale, CA, Religious Discrimination Lawyer

California Law Prohibits Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

California employers are legally forbidden from basing employment decisions on an employee’s religious beliefs, practices, or affiliations.

That protection extends to every stage of employment, including hiring, promotion, compensation, job assignments, training, and termination. It also entails protection from harassment, denial of reasonable accommodations, and retaliation for asserting religious rights.

Religious discrimination is prohibited under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

California’s law is broader and more protective than federal law. FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees, while Title VII applies only to employers with 15 or more. Additionally, FEHA doesn’t cap damages, and state cases don’t require a unanimous jury verdict. For these reasons, pursuing action under FEHA is typically the stronger option for California workers.

The religious protections California law affords aren’t limited to traditional organized religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or Buddhism. FEHA protects sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs, even if they aren’t widely recognized, are newly formed, or aren’t affiliated with any established religious group.

What Counts as Religious Discrimination?

Religious discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee or applicant differently because of their religious beliefs or practices. The discrimination doesn’t need to be overt; employers rarely announce that a hiring, promotion, or termination decision was based on an employee’s religion.

The evidence in these cases is usually circumstantial and may include the timing and pattern of behavior, as well as the treatment of similarly situated employees who don’t share the same religious background.

Hiring and Termination Based on Religion

Refusing to hire a qualified candidate because of their religious beliefs, attire, or grooming practices is strictly illegal. The same goes for termination. If an employer fires an employee or pressures them into resigning because of their religion, the termination is unlawful regardless of the stated reason.

Denial of Promotion or Career Advancement

Employers in Glendale can’t pass over an employee for promotion, training, or advancement opportunities because of their religious beliefs or practices. When a less qualified employee who doesn’t share the same religious affiliation receives the promotion instead, it can support a discrimination claim.

Unequal Pay or Benefits

Paying an employee less or providing inferior benefits based on their religion is also a violation of California law. Compensation decisions must reflect legitimate, job-related factors, such as performance, experience, and seniority. If religion plays any role, the decision is discriminatory.

Workplace Segregation Based on Religious Attire or Grooming

Importantly, employers can’t segregate employees (removing them from client-facing roles, relocating them to less visible positions, or restricting their participation in meetings or events) because of religious dress, head coverings, facial hair, or grooming practices.

Segregation based on religious persuasion is discrimination, plain and simple, even if the employer claims that the decision was driven by customer preference or company image.

Harassment Based on Religious Beliefs

Religious harassment encompasses offensive remarks, jokes, or questions about an employee’s religion, faith-based practices, or religious attire.

A supervisor or coworker who makes repeated comments mocking an employee’s faith, questioning their beliefs, or pressuring them to adopt a different religion is engaging in harassment. Isolated comments may not rise to the level of illegality, but sustained conduct that creates a hostile work environment does.

Harassment is unlawful whether it comes from a supervisor, a coworker, or even a non-employee, such as a client or vendor. The employer may be liable if it knew about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

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Your Right to Reasonable Religious Accommodations

California law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would cause an undue hardship to the employer’s business.

In this context, an accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment or job duties that allows the employee to observe their religious practices without forcing them to choose between their job and their faith.

What Counts as a Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodations include:

• Scheduling changes: Allowing flexible start or end times, shift swaps, or time off for spiritual observances, Sabbath, or religious holidays
• Dress code and grooming exceptions: Permitting religious head coverings, religious attire, beards, uncut hair, or other grooming practices required by the employee’s faith
• Break periods: Affording short breaks during the workday for prayer, meditation, or other daily religious practices
• Modifications to job duties: Reassigning tasks that conflict with religious beliefs or exempting an employee from participating in activities that violate their convictions
• Voluntary shift substitutions or swaps: Allowing employees to trade shifts with coworkers to accommodate Sabbath observance or religious holidays

The accommodation must be effective, meaning it must actually allow the employee to practice their religion. In other words, an employer can’t offer a symbolic gesture and call it an accommodation. If the proposed accommodation doesn’t resolve the conflict between work requirements and religious practice, the employer must try something else.

When Can an Employer Deny an Accommodation?

An employer can deny a requested accommodation only if granting it would create an undue hardship. Under California law, undue hardship is defined as significant difficulty or expense in the context of the employer’s business. The standard is stricter than federal law.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy raised the federal standard for undue hardship, clarifying that employers must show a burden that’s “substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business,” not just something more than a minimal cost.

Here are a few examples of what doesn’t qualify as undue hardship:

• Minor costs associated with shift swaps or schedule changes
• Coworker complaints that aren’t based on actual operational harm
• Speculative concerns about future disruption
• Preferences about company image or customer perception that aren’t tied to measurable business necessity

The following scenarios, meanwhile, could create undue hardship:

• A requested accommodation that would violate a bona fide seniority system or collective bargaining agreement
• A requested accommodation that would require other employees to assume dangerous or burdensome tasks beyond their job description
• A scheduling accommodation that would shut down a critical operation because no other qualified employee is available

The burden is on the employer to prove undue hardship with specific evidence — general claims of inconvenience aren’t enough.

How to Prove Religious Discrimination in California

Proving religious discrimination requires showing that religion was a motivating factor in the employer’s decision. Evidence may take the form of the timing of certain actions, documentation patterns, inconsistent explanations, and the treatment of employees who don’t share the same religious background.

Documenting Discrimination

If you believe you’re being discriminated against, it’s critical to document everything you can.

Keep Records of the Discriminatory Conduct

Write down dates, times, locations, and the names of people who were present when discriminatory comments were made or adverse actions occurred.

Save All Relevant Communications

Preserve emails, text messages, Slack messages, memos, and any other written communications that reference your religion, your accommodation request, or the employer’s response.

Collect Performance Reviews and Historic Feedback

If your employer suddenly raises performance concerns after you requested a religious accommodation, your previous positive reviews are evidence that their rationale is a pretext.

Identify Comparators

If other employees who don’t share your religious background have been treated more favorably in similar situations, that comparative evidence can back up your claim.

Establishing a Prima Facie Case

To establish a prima facie case of religious discrimination, you must demonstrate the following:

• You have a sincerely held religious belief or practice.
• Your employer knew about your religious belief or practice.
• You suffered an adverse employment action because of your religious belief or practice (termination, demotion, denial of promotion, etc.).
• The adverse action occurred under circumstances suggesting that it was motivated by your religion.

Once you establish these elements, it’s on your employer to provide a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse action. If they do, you must show that the stated reason is pretextual, or a cover for the actual discriminatory motive. Timing, inconsistency, and evidence of a broader pattern all matter here.

Overcoming the Employer’s Defenses

Employers frequently claim that adverse actions are based on performance, business restructuring, or budgetary concerns. Asking certain questions can help you, your attorney, and the court determine whether those explanations hold up:

• Did the performance concerns exist before you requested the accommodation or before the employer learned about your religion?
• Are the documented performance issues consistent with what you were told verbally, or did the written record appear after the protected activity?
• Were other employees who had comparable or worse performance treated differently?
• Did the employer follow its own policies in taking the adverse action, or did it deviate from normal procedures in your case?

Inconsistencies between the employer’s stated reason and the facts are evidence of pretext. Employers who build a paper trail after learning about an accommodation request often leave gaps that expose their real motives.

Filing a Religious Discrimination Claim in California

In California, religious discrimination claims must be filed with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) before a lawsuit can proceed in court. Federal claims should be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Both agencies investigate complaints and attempt to resolve them through mediation or settlement. If the agency can’t resolve the complaint, it will issue a right-to-sue notice, which allows the employee to file a lawsuit.

Filing a Complaint with the California Civil Rights Department

The CRD enforces FEHA provisions in the state. You can file a complaint online, by mail, or in person at a CRD office. The complaint must describe the discriminatory conduct, identify the employer, and explain how your religion was a factor in the adverse action.

Department officials will investigate the complaint by requesting documents from the employer and interviewing witnesses. The agency may recommend mediation to resolve the case without litigation.

If mediation fails or the investigation doesn’t result in a finding of discrimination, the CRD will issue a right-to-sue notice. Once you receive that notice, you have one year to file a lawsuit in court.

Filing a Complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Filing with the EEOC follows a similar process: The agency investigates, attempts conciliation, and issues a right-to-sue notice if the case can’t be resolved. EEOC complaints must be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act if you’re also protected by state law, or within 180 days if you aren’t.

Many employees submit complaints to both agencies. Complaints filed with the CRD are automatically cross-filed with the EEOC, and vice versa, under a worksharing agreement. Having CRD take the lead on the investigation is typically the better option for California employees, as FEHA provides broader remedies and doesn’t cap damages.

Deadlines for Religious Discrimination Complaints

There are strict filing deadlines for religious discrimination claims. Under FEHA, you have three years from the date of the discriminatory act to file a complaint with the CRD. If you miss that window, your claim will be dismissed — no exceptions.

After the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice, you have one year to file a lawsuit in court. Again, if you fail to file before that deadline, you’ll lose the right to sue, regardless of the strength of your case.

Federal claims filed with the EEOC have shorter deadlines, either 180 days or 300 days, depending on whether your state has its own anti-discrimination laws.

If you believe you’ve been discriminated against because of your faith, it’s wise to contact a religious discrimination lawyer in Glendale right away to preserve your rights.

Available Remedies in Religious Discrimination Cases

A successful religious discrimination case can result in substantial compensation. The damages awarded are intended to restore what you lost and compensate you for the harm you’ve suffered. If the CRD or the EEOC rules in your favor, you might recover any of the following.

Lost Wages and Benefits

Back pay includes all wages, bonuses, commissions, and benefits you lost from the date of the discriminatory act through the resolution of your case.

If the discrimination resulted in a demotion or pay reduction, back pay also includes the difference between what you earned and what you should have earned. If your employer terminated you, your back pay will include the full salary and benefits you would have received if you hadn’t been fired.

Front pay, meanwhile, can compensate you for future lost earnings, or the wages and benefits you’ll lose going forward if you can’t return to your prior position.

Emotional Distress Damages

Religious discrimination can cause real psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, humiliation, loss of self-esteem, and damage to one’s professional reputation.

California law permits recovery for emotional distress damages under FEHA, with no statutory cap. The amount awarded depends on the severity and duration of the harm, and whether the discriminatory conduct was particularly egregious.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages may be available if the employer acted with malice, fraud, or oppression. These damages are designed to punish the employer and to deter similar conduct from others. 

California courts have awarded punitive damages in religious discrimination cases where supervisors maliciously targeted employees for their religious beliefs, or where employers ignored clear evidence of harassment and failed to take corrective action.

Legal Costs

Under FEHA, prevailing employees can recover attorney fees and litigation costs from their employer. This fee-shifting provision levels the playing field, allowing employees to pursue claims against powerful employers that have far more resources.

Reinstatement

In some cases, a court may order the employer to reinstate the employee to their previous position.

Reinstatement is more common in cases where the employee was wrongfully terminated and still wants to work for the employer. For reasons that aren’t hard to understand, many clients prefer financial compensation to continuing to work for an employer who discriminated against them.