The D.C. Department of Human Resources promotes workforce diversity and fosters an inclusive work environment as part of its equal employment opportunity commitments. As part of these commitments, DCHR requires all agencies under its authority to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs, observances, and practices of their employees upon request. Agencies must grant an employee’s request for a religious accommodation unless granting the accommodation would create an undue hardship as described in this issuance. This issuance provides agencies guidance on reviewing and processing employee requests for a religious accommodation.

A religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow an employee or applicant to practice their religion. An employee is eligible for a religious accommodation if their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances conflict with their work requirements, unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship. Religious accommodations might include an exemption from a dress code that would otherwise prohibit an employee from wearing a religious head covering; or, from a work schedule that would otherwise interfere with an employee’s ability to attend religious services.

What are religious beliefs or practices?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notes that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 defines “religion” very broadly. A religion includes traditional organized religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American religions, and Unitarian Universalism, and includes religious beliefs that are new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, or only held by a small number of people. Social, political, or economic philosophies, or personal preferences are not considered religious beliefs under federal law.

What constitutes sincerely held?

A sincerely held religious belief may be a theistic belief or a non-theistic moral or ethical belief as to what is right and wrong that is held with the strength of traditional religious views. Given the broad scope of sincerely held religious beliefs, agencies may be unfamiliar with the specific beliefs, observances, and practices that are protected. For this reason, agencies should ordinarily assume that an employee’s request for a religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held belief.

Nevertheless, there may be times when an agency has a reasonable basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of a particular belief, observance, or practice.  Factors that may undermine the credibility of an employee’s assertion of a sincerely held religious belief, either alone or in combination, include:

1. Whether the employee has acted in a manner that is markedly inconsistent with the professed belief;
2. Whether the timing of the request renders it suspect (e.g., it follows an earlier request by the employee for the same benefit for secular reasons); or
3. Whether the employer otherwise has reason to believe the accommodation is not sought for religious reasons.

While the instances above may undermine the credibility of an employee’s assertion of a sincerely held religious belief, none of these factors are dispositive. While prior inconsistent conduct is relevant to the question of sincerity, an individual’s beliefs, or degree of adherence, may evolve overtime, and therefore an employee’s recently adopted or inconsistently observed religious practice may still be sincerely held.

CAUTION! Agencies should also not assume that an employee is insincere because some of their practices differ from the commonly followed tenets of the employee’s religion, or because the employee adheres to some common practices, but not others.

Employees who request an accommodation for their religious beliefs or practices may make the request by:

1. Completing the Request Form. Employees should complete Part 1 of a Religious Accommodation Request Form (Attachment A).
2. Submitting the Request Form to the Agency. Once completed, employees must submit the request to their supervisor or HR representative, who will ensure it is delivered to the individual designated for processing religious accommodation requests for their agency.

What to Expect Next

1. Discuss your accommodation request. Employees should expect an agency representative to schedule a time to discuss their accommodation request. While agencies are not required to conduct a discussion with an employee before making a determination on an accommodation request, it is important to do so as a practical matter. During the discussion, the agency may ask the employee for additional information about the employee’s beliefs and practices to determine if the employee’s requested accommodation can be granted without posing an undue hardship on agency operations, or if alternate forms of accommodation can be arranged. For example, if an employee requests a schedule change to accommodate daily prayers, an agency may need to ask for information about the religious observance such as when the prayers take place, and for how long, to determine whether the accommodation can be granted without posing an undue hardship on agency operations.  The agency may also ask for additional information to determine whether an employee’s belief or practice is religious in nature and to determine whether a religious belief is sincerely held by the employee.
2. Provide supporting documentation if needed. To help an agency determine whether an accommodation would pose an undue hardship, or if another form of accommodation can be provided, employees may need to further explain the conflict between their religious observances, practices, or beliefs and a job requirement. In some circumstances, an agency may have reasonable doubts about the sincerity or religious nature of an employee’s professed belief. In these instances, an employee should provide information that addresses the agency’s reasonable doubts.
3. Await a determination.

Unless otherwise established by the Director of DCHR, agencies shall process all religious accommodation requests. Agencies should process requests for religious accommodations by completing Part 2 of the Religious Accommodation Request Form and making determinations on a case-by-case basis in consultation with agency legal counsel, as appropriate.

Upon receipt of an accommodation request, agencies should:

1. Determine if the request is due to a sincerely held religious belief and if the employee’s requested accommodation may cause an undue hardship. To help determine if the employee’s requested accommodation would cause an undue hardship to agency operations, schedule a time with the employee to discuss their accommodation request. Ask the employee for additional information about their beliefs and practices to determine if the requested accommodation can be granted without posing an undue hardship, or if alternate accommodations may be more appropriate. If the agency has a reasonable basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of a particular belief, also ask for additional information to determine whether an employee’s belief or practice is religious in nature and to determine whether a religious belief is sincerely held by the employee.
    
2. Request supporting documents if needed. Documentation supporting a religious accommodation request may be necessary in some instances, but not always. For example, an agency may require documentation when there is an objective reason to question the sincerity of the employee’s religious beliefs. However, agencies should not as a matter of course require documentation. Instead, agencies should evaluate each request on its own merits and facts, and determine when, and if, documentation is needed.
   
   Information about the employee’s religious observances, practices, or beliefs does not need to take any specific form. For example, written materials or the employee’s own first-hand explanation may be sufficient to alleviate the agency’s doubts about the sincerity or religious nature of the employee’s professed belief such that additional verification is unnecessary. Further, since idiosyncratic beliefs can be sincerely held and religious, even when third-party verification is requested, it does not have to come from a clergy member or fellow congregant, but rather could be provided by others who are aware of the employee’s religious practice or belief.
    
3. Make a determination. An agency may deny a religious accommodation request if the agency can demonstrate that the accommodation would cause an undue hardship. The determination of whether a particular proposed accommodation imposes an undue hardship must be made on a case-by-case basis. An accommodation may cause undue hardship if it imposes a cost on the agency, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, violates a labor agreement, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work.
   
   If an agency asserts undue hardship based on cost, the agency must show more than a minimal impact upon the agency’s business cost to the agency. The hardship upon the agency cannot be merely speculative and must be genuine. Finally, if an employee’s original request would cause an undue hardship to the agency’s operations, the agency must reasonably accommodate the employee in a manner that does not cause undue hardship to the agency. If the agency determines other accommodations would cause an undue hardship, an employee shall have the option of taking leave without pay if granting leave without pay would not cause an undue hardship to the agency.
   
   An agency may also deny a religious accommodation request if it determines that the underlying belief or practice is not religious in nature, or that the religious belief is not sincerely held by the employee.
   
   As noted above, the agency should ordinarily assume that an employee's request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held religious belief. However, after engaging in the interactive process with the employee, the agency may conclude that an asserted belief is not religious (for example, the agency may conclude that the belief is social or political) or that the belief is not sincerely held by the employee (the agency may conclude that the employee’s assertion of sincerity is not credible).

If denied a religious accommodation, an employee may first consult with the agency designee who made the initial determination to request reconsideration.

If unresolved, for complaints related to a failure to accommodate a religious belief, practice, or observance, DC government employees must first consult a certified agency EEO Counselor within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act (or discovery thereof) prior to filing a complaint with the Office of Human Rights (OHR). If the matter is not resolved at the agency level, once the EEO Counselor issues an employee an “exit letter,” they may file an official complaint with OHR. For more information on filing a complaint with OHR, go to ohr.dc.gov.

1. What You Should Know: Workplace Religious Accommodation, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC-NVTA-0000-20, March 6, 2014)
2. Religious Discrimination, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC-CVG-2021-3)
3. Religious Discrimination and Accommodation in the Federal Workplace, U.S. Department of  Labor
4. D.C. Code § 1-607.01(b)
5. D.C. Code § 2-1402.11(c)
6. 6-B DCMR § 1206
7. COVID-19 and Religious Accommodation Requests, Office of Human Rights (OHR Guidance No. 22-02)