IN DEFENSE OF THE WORKPLACE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT: PROTECTING THE UNPROTECTED WITHOUT SANCTIFYING THE WORKPLACE

Reflecting a decades-long ethos, the prevailing business culture in the United States views negatively the mixing of religion with work. Employees commonly surmise that the law restricts workers from practicing aspects of their religion while at work, even though Congress expressly mandated that employers accommodate the religious needs of workers in 1972. Unfortunately, narrow judicial interpretations during the past 30 years have thwarted congressional efforts to assure that religious workers - those who desire to express their religious or spiritual beliefs at work - are accommodated. In response to emboldened religious workers and ever-increasing religious pluralism, Congress is considering legislation aimed at establishing unequivocally the rights of employees who respectfully wish to bring aspects of their faith to work. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2003 (WRFA) was introduced with co-sponsors stretching the ideological gamut. Salient aspects of the WRFA, which was drafted in part to deal with a more religious - and a more religiously diverse - workplace, are analyzed. It is concluded that a close examination of the WRFA reveals that its provisions are well-suited to offer needed protection for religious workers.