Jewish religious observance can create friction in the secular workplace as Shabbat and holidays cause our world to grind to a halt while secular society keeps moving. On top of that, our personal Jewish observances can be fluid—it is common to become more or less observant over time, which can surprise employers and cause them to question the sincerity of our practice. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides employees in the United States with a right to reasonable accommodation of religious practices where the employer has fifteen or more employees. This post focuses on U.S. federal law, but additional protections are available under state and local law in many jurisdictions. 

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Groff v. DeJoy, which interpreted Title VII to provide employees with a right to have their religious beliefs and practices accommodated unless doing so would cause the employer to incur an undue hardship.

The threshold of what is an undue hardship is subjective and will depend on the accommodation requested, the needs of the employer’s business, and the employer’s ability to bear any costs associated with the accommodation. It probably is an undue hardship to require an employer to close for lack of coverage or pay another employee overtime when it would not have otherwise paid overtime. There are some jobs that do genuinely require 24/7/365 availability, and this may provide an undue hardship. 

If you are in a situation that might present an undue hardship, your employer is required to engage in a dialogue with you to try to find a solution, but you may need to make compromises if you want to keep the job. 

While an employer may not deny an accommodation based on its questioning of the legitimacy of your religious beliefs and practices, it may question your sincerity. 

In other words, an employer cannot deny an accommodation based on a belief that Judaism is a not legitimate religion or that you are observing it incorrectly. On the other hand, an employer can, for example, deny an accommodation to not work on Shabbat after reasonably concluding that your sudden desire to keep Shabbat has more to do with your favorite rock band playing on Saturday afternoon than newly-found religious fervor. 

Here are some suggestions for how to approach this in your workplace:

1. Make your employer aware of your need for days off far in advance, and in writing, and take other reasonable steps to make things easier for them. If your job is one where coverage is necessary, try to find a coworker to cover your shift rather than making your employer do it for you. Make sure that your employer knows you are requesting time off for religious observance—don’t just say, “I need next Thursday off.” 
2. Volunteer to cover secular and Christian holidays—this can help to soften any frustration that coworkers have with restrictions on your work schedule.
3. Expect questions—you may have to patiently explain to your employer that your Jewish practice may be different from that of another Jewish employee, friend, or relative. 
4. Know your rights—in addition to having a right to a reasonable accommodation, you have a right to be free from religious harassment (which can come from co-workers who are frustrated with having to accommodate your religious observance), not to be discriminated against for being Jewish, and not to be retaliated against for seeking a religious accommodation. See https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination

It can be uncomfortable to have these conversations with employers, and I hope that this is helpful to you. 

This article is intended to impart a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice or substitute for the counsel of a licensed attorney.