Religious discrimination occurs in the workplace when an employer treats an employee differently because of religion, religious beliefs and practices, or a request for a change in a workplace rule or policy to accommodate religious beliefs and practices.

When it comes to religion in the workplace, federal laws are clear. Employers cannot treat applicants or employees differently because of their religion.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that protects people from discrimination based on religion as well as race, color, sex and national origin. Title VII makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against anyone because of his or her religion in hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment, such as promotions, raises and other job opportunities. Title VII applies to all employers, public or private, who have at least 15 employees.

The law also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee unless doing do would create an "undue hardship" upon the employer. Flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers are examples of ways of accommodating an employee's religious beliefs.

Workplace accommodations are increasing at progressive companies. For example, 76 percent of The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® have floating religious holidays to accommodate employees, compared with just 34 percent of companies nationwide (Society of Human Resource Management).

While many progressive companies have recognized the value of diversity and inclusion, few companies have embraced the concept of religious employee-resource groups. The reason: Companies are scared of polarizing one group against the other, appearing exclusive instead of inclusive, and allowing an anti-LGBT backlash.

Of the 401 companies that applied to The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, only 10 percent have religious employee-resource groups. Among the two best nationwide are American Express, which has separate groups for Christian, Jewish and Muslim employees (and those who are interested in knowing about them), and Ford Motor Co., which has an interfaith group that encompasses all religious groups.

In 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 3,273 charges of workplace religious discrimination, representing nearly a 14 percent increase over the previous year, when 2,880 charges were filed.

In the last 30 years, employees have won about one-third of their claims for scheduling changes caused by observance of religious holidays, nearly one-half of claims for having a beard or hairstyle for religious reasons, and one-fourth of claims for wearing religious apparel, according to partner John Bryson of Jackson Lewis LLP.

The EEOC reports that religious intolerance and prejudice against employees who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent has increased markedly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. After that day, complaints of religious discrimination in the workplace skyrocketed, tripling in one year—from 9.7 percent of all discrimination complaints in 2000 to 20.9 percent in 2001. The majority of those complaints, according to the EEOC, were made by Muslims, but members of many religious groups, as well as agnostics and atheists, have felt the sting of religious workplace discrimination and have sought legal action.