Judging by the questions we get here at the Blawg, religious discrimination is an area that confounds lots of HR and business leaders.

I stumbled across this excellent piece by the folks at Snell & Wilmer LLP on how to avoid religious discrimination claims. Here are their “Top Ten Commandments”:

  1. Thou shalt not assume a religion unknown to you is not a religion.
  2. Thou shalt not discriminate on the basis of religion.
  3. Thou shalt not harass employees based on their religion.
  4. Thous shalt reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs.
  5. Thou shalt be careful enforcing dressing standards.
  6. Thou shalt be careful enforcing appearance and grooming standards.
  7. Thou shalt allow employees to participate in religious observances.
  8. Thou shalt provide a time and place for employees to pray.
  9. Thou shalt treat religious displays in the workplace equally among religions.
  10. Thou may have an exception if thou art a religious organization.

Amen. For more on each of the above, click here.