Prayer at Christmas Party

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Question

We hold a Christmas party for our employees every year. At the beginning of the party, we invite employees to pray with us. We have an employee saying that we are not allowed to pray in the workplace because it violates her personal beliefs. We have told her that she doesn’t have to pray with us if she doesn’t want to, but she is claiming that we aren’t allowed to have a group prayer at all, even if she doesn’t join. Is this true?

Answer

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated that employers are entitled to integrate their religious beliefs or practices into the workplace. However, if an employer holds religious services includes prayer in business meetings, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires the employer to accommodate an employee who asks to be excused for religious reasons, including nonbelief, absent a showing of undue hardship. According to the EEOC, excusing an employee from religious services typically does not create an undue hardship because it does not cost the employer anything and does not disrupt business operations or other workers.

Similarly, an employer is required, absent undue hardship, to excuse an employee from compulsory personal or professional development training or participation in an initiative or celebration if it conflicts with the employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, observances or practices. However, the EEOC has stated that there may be cases in which an employer can show that it would pose an undue hardship to provide an alternative training or to excuse an employee from any part of a particular training, even if the employee asserts it is contrary to their religious beliefs to attend (e.g., where the training provides information on how to perform the job; on how to comply with equal employment opportunity obligations; or on other workplace policies, procedures or applicable legal requirements).