Partner Joshua Zuckerberg Speaks to New York Times About Religious Observance in the Workplace
Partner Joshua Zuckerberg, a member of Pryor Cashman’s Labor and Employment Group, recently spoke to The New York Times for its July 4, 2010 article “The Balancing Of Church and Cubicle.” Zuckerberg’s responses to two questions were featured in the article.
The first question was whether it was o.k. to put up religious symbols or sayings in your office or cubicle? Zuckerberg responded that while the answer was yes, “if you see clients in your office, keep in mind that it's a place for conducting business – and that this needs to be evident to clients. You don't want it to look like you're proselytizing, for example, by having a large crucifix on the front door. You don't want to be seen as imposing your views on others."
The second questions posed by The New York Times to Zuckerberg was: “If your employer tells you it's not acceptable to express your faith at work – whether in how you decorate your office, how you dress or what you say to others – is this religious discrimination?” Zuckerberg responded that “the law says you have a right to be free from discrimination based on religion, but that's generally in cases of blatant discrimination, like being fired or not hired because of your religion.”
In speaking about the overall situation, Zuckerberg stated: “It's generally a reasonableness test. If an employer can show that your request is an undue burden on the business, they can say no. If you want to leave early on Fridays to observe the Jewish Sabbath but the company only has three employees, that simply may not be possible. On the other hand, if the company has 2,000 employees, it probably won't be a problem."
To read the article from The New York Times, please click here.
