Sample Accommodation Request Letter. I will be very grateful if you could assist me in achieving a suitable schedule to avoid such a conflict. This observance coincides with [name of assignment] that is listed on the syllabus. If you wish to submit proof of your COVID-19 vaccination or request a religious exception for the COVID-19 vaccine requirement, please do so via the Universitys Vaccine Management System (VMS) that will launch on July 1, 2021. the type of workplace and the nature of the employee's duties, including whether the employee requesting a religious accommodation to a COVID-19 vaccination requirement works outdoors or indoors . You should consult an attorney for legal advice specific to your . Workplace distractions interfere with my concentration and focus so I would like to try noise cancelling headphones to minimize sound distractions. Permitting a student or employee to take a particular day or time period off for a religious holiday; Providing a student or employee with a time and place to pray. Erin Mulvaney. Employee requests for religious accommodation at work are not always handled appropriately; take, for instance, Ashanti McShan's case. Would you please let me know in the next week? Once a religious objection to taking a vaccine is established, an employer has a duty to accommodate that religious belief up to the point of undue hardship. (800) 526-7234 (Voice) | (877) 781-9403 (TTY) | Employer Live Chat, Home| About| For Employers| For Individuals| For Others| On Demand, Feedback| Accessibility| Copyright| Disclaimer| Privacy, Examples of Accommodation Request Letters, Personal air purifier (for my office) and air filters (for HVAC), or. Gathering InformationOIE asks students and employees to complete the religious accommodation request form. The EEOC, which enforces Title VII and recently updated its pandemic guidance on vaccine exemptions, defines religion in the workplace bias context as firmly and sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. I would be a violation of my deeply held sincere religious conviction to work on Sabbath--the 24 hour period from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Individuals covered by the federal vaccination mandate currently impacting nine Penn State campuses who believe that their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances prevent them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, may complete an online accommodation request form on or before Nov. 5. When we met with you, we discussed what type of accommodation you . Please enable scripts and reload this page. I would also be open to any other suggestions that you might have. }, I believe that such a request would not be unsafe, inconvenient, or costly. Inconsistent behavior with the professed belief. After you complete your submission, you will receive automated responses and updates from the system as your documents or exception requests are processed by the John Hopkins Exception Review Team. Staff with a medical, mental health, or developmental disability shall immediately contact their . This form asks for information on the specific religious belief or conviction - whether religious, spiritual, or philosophical - that is the basis of the request, as well as the requestedaccommodation or modification to policy, practice, or schedule. On [enter date or dates] we will be observing [name of holiday]. $('.container-footer').first().hide();
These may prove helpful to consult. An employer violated federal law when it refused to grant an employee an exemption from its mandatory flu shot policy without a note from a clergy leader, the federal government has alleged in a . T hank you for considering my request. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Hiring and Staffing Dept. Thank you for your consideration and understanding in this matter. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has excellent regulations and a compliance manual with lots of information and suggestions for how someone, like myself, can be accommodated. General Information Catalog IT Policies, Standards, and Guidelines I would like to suggest the following accommodations to address this issue: Please let me know if you need additional information or would like to discuss additional ideas. I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and I observe the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. 01. Explain that you would like an accommodation to allow you to practice your religion at work. You are entitled to make this request, and your employer must make these accommodations based on the law of Equal Employment Opportunity. Make sure, as well, that the letter does not contain any grammatical or spelling errors. In order to establish the existence of a religious objection, it will be necessary for the individual to have specific religious beliefs which would be violated in a non-trivial way by receiving a particular vaccine. Make accommodation policies clear, and apply them equally even if the employer has never heard of the religion. 02. Your manager may not be familiar with your church, and the law doesn't require employers to have an encyclopedic knowledge of every religion. The policy guarantees that you are not unduly prevented from observing your religious practice; it does not necessarily guarantee the observance of that practice at a particular time or in a particular location (e.g. Employees requesting a religious accommodation shall immediately contact their local Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator. For Airmen seeking a religious accommodation request, chaplains play a critical role in ensuring each request is fully considered in accordance with DAFI 52-201, Religious Freedom in the Department of the Air Force. Fundamental requirements of the applicable academic program and/or related technical standards; Essential functions of an individual's job; Duties of others in the department or job group; Availability of alternative accommodations; Any undue hardship resulting from the requested accommodation; and. Employers are supposed to start out with the assumption that the employee's religious belief is sincere. Each request is individually reviewed by . x][s} d
=@_(3"I7ZqOnmY.=s@C`0NT6_w5_/O?a(Km~]Wy]]? Document accommodations the employer tried to make and that the employee rejected. Employer's address. temp_style.textContent = '.ms-rtestate-field > p:first-child.is-empty.d-none, .ms-rtestate-field > .fltter .is-empty.d-none, .ZWSC-cleaned.is-empty.d-none {display:block !important;}';
}
I am writing to request religious accommodation for my observance of Sabbath. Please note:To receive a religious accommodation, the religious observance must be one required by one's religious tradition. I often suggest employees consider making a written request so they can decide what to say and how to say it without the stress of a face-to-face meeting with their employer. 6. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's template is the same one the agency uses for its own employees, and was part of a Thursday update to . Dear Boss, First, I request a religious exemption. For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers:
The law requires that educational institutions must develop policies to accommodate student absences to allow students to take holidays for reasons of faith or conscience or for organized . Once OIE has all supporting documentation, it will strive for a 5 business day turnaround. The letter should make it clear that you are requesting reasonable accommodation in view of your religious beliefs. There are many types of accommodations. Thank you in advance for accommodating my request. This site contains User-Generated Content, meaning any and all information and content that a user submits to the Site. An applicant or employee may need a reasonable accommodation (a change to the way things are normally done at work) so he can practice or observe his religion. If there are any other ideas or options that you could provide it would be greatly appreciated. We have reviewed the attached case file and recommend action on SSgt Alpha's request for religious accommodation from compliance with Air Force grooming standards be deferred pending his imminent transfer of duty stations. I would like to work with you to explore how I can meet the requirements of your course while still honoring my religious practice. And, it is also for encouraging and enticing your clients to visit your place of business as well. Rising sophomores (Class of 2025): Thursday, March 3, 2022, Incoming students (Class of 2026 and transfer sophomores): TBD. If students are sabbath-observant, they must make this fact known to their professors for any course in which Saturday work is required. This template letter is not intended to give legal advice, but rather general legal information and serve as a general resource. If accommodation is easy, do it," said Kelly Dobbs Bunting, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig in Philadelphia, speaking at the SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference 2022on March 30 in Washington, D.C. Consider the request. {Your Address} To have your request for a religious academic/workplace accommodation considered, please review the following process: 1. Professional Studies and Executive Education, American University's United Methodist Affiliation, submit an online request for reasonable religious accommodations. As such, I am unable to {work on Sunday mornings, shave my beard, etc.}. I have the interest of the company at heart. SPOKANE, Wash - State employees required to get the COVID-19 vaccine now have a way to request religious and medical exemptions. I am willing to come to work earlier on Fridays, come to work on Sunday, or to cooperate in whatever arrangements may need to be made so I can retain my Sabbath observance according to my convictions. how the accommodation will help resolve the conflict between your religious beliefs or practices and a university policy, procedure, or other requirement. CBP Applicant: An applicant requesting religious accommodation for any stage of the application process must submit a request for religious accommodation to the Indianapolis or Minneapolis Hiring Center, as applicable. student affairs representatives, faculty, managers, and/or supervisors) who participated in the interactive process. In most cases, students should seek to make arrangements with the appropriate University office first, contacting professors, residential life, or dining services. Find your nearest EEOC office
Sitting or standing for long periods of time in the same position is causing increased pain and is decreasing my mobility. As part of our commitment to diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination, the University makes good faith efforts to reconcile potential conflicts between an individuals strongly heldreligious, spiritual or philosophicalbeliefs and university work or academic requirements. Frequently Asked Questions, Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations, Office of Civil Rights, Diversity and Inclusion, Management Directives & Federal Sector Guidance, Federal Sector Alternative Dispute Resolution, sincere religious, ethical or moral beliefs. The most effective way to monitor religious accommodations is to encourage ongoing communication.Religious accommodations remain in effect through the date included on the approval letter unless the student or employee is notified by the University of a change. }
3. Your letter should be a formal one, addressed to the right person. The interactive process starts when a student or employeesubmits a religious accommodation request. Sabbath Accommodation - Sundown Request - Employee Letter DATE EMPLOYER NAME ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE RE: (YOUR NAME): Dear (NAME), As I believe you are aware, I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and I observe the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Because many people still do not want to be vaccinated, a number of websites have . University of Washington Religious Accommodations Policy. Please bear in mind that I do not request to have the Sabbath off in order to have an extra day at home to catch up on odd jobs or to engage in recreation or amusements. Religious Exemption Letter. According to new guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers can push back when there is: HR may speak with supervisors and inquire about whether the person talks about religion at work or has ever asked for specific days off. This is false. Your session has expired. {Your Phone #} The extent to which an employer must accommodate an employees religious objection to taking a vaccine will be dependent on the specific circumstances of the employment.. That being said, you should write your exemption letter in your own words according . More than 10,000 requests from across the Total Force have been received, of which approximately 2,100 have been disapproved due to military readiness considerations. For example, if an employer has to hire a temporary worker to cover Saturdays for an employee who misses shifts then for religious reasons, there might be an undue hardship in accommodating the employee, she said. Manager Responsibilities - Reasonable Accommodation Tips, 131 M Street, NE
I do not wish to have a conflict between my job duties and my obligations to God. Questions regarding applying for housing should be directed to Housing Operations at (410) 516-7960 or housing@jhu.edu. *If you are a graduate student and the portal does not work for you, please contact Dining to be manually added. I am writing this letter to submit a request for accommodations in the workplace. Change employee to a shift or department that does not operate on Friday night or Saturday. This catalog is the document of authority for all students and includes undergraduate, graduate, law, and medical students. 5. To permit me to have Sabbath off once or twice a month would not suffice as a reasonable accommodation, since it would still force me to choose between my religion and my job. Religious beliefs are one freedom protected in the workplace by Title VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964. SAMPLE REQUEST FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION [STUDENT] Dear [School Administration]: [School] has issued a directive requiring me, a student enrolled in [school] [or, if the student is a minor, my child [name of student], a student enrolled in [school],] to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine. For incoming students, a request must be made at the earliest possible opportunity after admission. % If employers get an accommodation request from a believer in a religion that is so obscure there's no faith leader, Bunting recommended asking the employee to e-mail HR a paragraph describing why . Scheduling accommodations may involve: 1. For instance, state that there is a company policy in place that requires you to do certain things that are not acceptable within your religion. I anticipate this arrangement would be necessary for only 5 or 6 weeks, or until the sun starts to set after 5:00 p.m. For instance, your company may have a certain dress code that you cannot adhere to, expect you to work on what is classed as a day of rest in your religion, and so on. Religious Accommodation Request Resolution Employee (identified below) has requested an accommodation related to a religious belief, practice, and/or requirement. After initiating your religious objection request via the action center and returning the requested documentation, a representative from Employee and Labor Relations will respond to requests for religious exceptions from staff employees and Academic Personnel will respond to requests for religious exceptions from Faculty and other academic }); if($('.container-footer').length > 1){
This sample letter can be used to ask your employer or prospective workplace for reasonable accommodations you need in the hiring process or for your job. nd OIE will do its best to respond in a timely manner. I would like to request accommodations so that I might be able to perform my job effectively before my performance starts to suffer. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS But for employees who need more ideas, the following examples offer additional guidance about how to communicate the need for an accommodation for various types of medical conditions. Please let me know your decision at your earliest convenience. Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Subject: Religious Accommodation for [Course Number]. Other objective reasons that the employer has to believe the requested accommodation isn't being sought for religious reasons. Some examples include: Permitting a student or employee to take a particular day or time period off for a religious holiday; Permitting flexible scheduling; and Providing a student or employee with a time and place to pray. {Your Name} Make sure that you make it very clear what it is that you cannot comply with and why. Your address 2. He has requested a schedule that would accommodate his religious observance of . Request for Religious Accommodation . This isn't really a religious request, so the employer can push back and request a letter from a faith leader, she said. An employee may It is difficult to say with certainty how long it can take to process requests, as many factors could impact timing (i.e., volume, complexity and availability of the student for follow up questions and/or their ability to timely provide supporting documentation). An employer that rejects such a request should be OK if it's sued in such circumstances, and it likely will be sued, she added. Depending on the circumstances, some examples of workplace accommodations may include: providing a woven cloth mask or personal protective equipment (PPE); physical distancing or modifying the work environment; modifying work schedules; Please let me know if you need additional information or would like to discuss additional ideas. Although Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) do not require clergy letters to be submitted in order to obtain a religious accommodation to receiving . $("span.current-site").html("SHRM MENA ");
The law protects people who have sincere religious, ethical or moral beliefs. %PDF-1.3 Gain the intel you need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks. If the student does not belong to a religious community that could provide this letter,the student should indicate this in their letter and request a letter from the University Chaplain after due consultation with the University Chaplain. Model Letter: Requesting Religious Accommodation in the Face of COVID-19 Vaccine Workplace Mandate For good or bad, COVID-19 has changed the way we navigate the world and the way in which "we the people" exercise our rights. Send religious accommodation letter sample via email, link, or fax. Additional information may be requested if needed to evaluate the request. Upon approval of a request for a religious exemption to immunization, the student may be asked to sign a release acknowledging that in the event of an outbreak, the student may face particular restrictions regarding classes, housing, or other activities. For example, an applicant may ask to reschedule an interview that is on a religious holiday or an employee may request an exception to a "no hats" rule to wear a religious head covering, such as a yarmulke or hijab. I am a practicing member of {Religion}. In order to retain my integrity in Sabbath observance, it is important that I be allowed to leave work each Friday just prior to sunset. It's been wonderful working here, everyone is very supporting and company really acknowledges employees work. Sincerely, The Justice Centre does not have a standard template to address such individual beliefs. Canadian law grants protection to an individuals personal religious beliefs which are sincerely held, regardless of whether those beliefs are adhered to by others or even by the faith community to which the individual belongs. I am enrolled in your course [course number]. An official website of the United States government. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organizations culture, industry, and practices. whether the employee requesting a religious accommodation to a Covid-19 vaccination requirement works outdoors or indoors; whether the employee works in a solitary or group work setting, or has . Religious Accommodation Request - Template Back Top Writing A Hardship Letter To Social Security. The Interactive Process is the way in which employees, supervisors, and their departments arrive at a reasonable accommodation. State that you are a practicing member of a certain religion. A business also might reject a religious accommodation request if the accommodation would decrease workplace efficiency, such as if everyone else has to cover the worktime of the employee who is missing work regularly, she said. I would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation due to religious belief. Please contact dining@jhu.edu or consult the Hopkins dining webpage if you have additional questions. Employers can push backgentlyon religious accommodation requests and don't have to grant requests that would result in an undue hardship, which is much easier for employers to show for religious accommodation requests than disability accommodation requests. Expand your toolbox with the tools and techniques needed to fix your organizations unique needs. The Jedi religion is listed by the military as one of more than 200 religions it recognizes. The Interactive Process can begin in a number of ways. I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this request. A request for a religious accommodation for dining must document: As with housing and dining accommodations, medical accommodations should be made at the earliest possible opportunity after admission. Dear Professor [last name], I am enrolled in your course [course number]. No attorney-client relationship is created by using the templates. The Department's reasonable accommodation policy is outlined within Personnel Bulletin 21-03 Processing Requests for Reasonable Accommodation for Individuals with Disabilities. Whatever adjustments need to be made, you can count on me to do everything I can to cooperate fully. (Note: This is a sample letter giving you a few theological reasons to help you with Biblical reasons to back up your claim for an exemption. }
Kosher Meal Plans: The university offers severalKosher meal plan optionsthat can be used at the The Taam Tov section of theHopkins Cafe. What should I do if an applicant or employee asks for breaks, leave or other changes to a work situation because of his medical condition or his religious beliefs? Find the latest news and members-only resources that can help employers navigate in an uncertain economy. Given the current labor shortage, the employer might not want to lose the employee or have the worker complain about the company on social media, she added. However, unless the disability or the need for accommodation is obvious, it is the . I have joined the office 5 months ago. 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone)
Questions #1-7: Basic Information Questions 1 - 7 require . Leading up to the holiday, Hopkins Dining will refine their planning and will distribute full details to students prior to the beginning of Ramadan. CO/OICs will accommodate . Embed Request Forms in Your Site. [1] Faculty/staff are hereafter referred to as employee(s).[2] Students who cannot take a quiz, test, or final exam on a scheduled date due to a religious observance must inform OIE of any conflicts before the semesters add/drop deadline, or as soon as possible after a particular assignment or examination date is announced. Don't be afraid to gently question the sincerity of the religion. Moreover, I am informed that the Federal Courts have held a reasonable accommodation is one that eliminates the conflict between the job duties and a workers religion. Religious Exemption letter. I request Reasonable Accommodation to have {Company Name} {waive the requirement, provide a substitute, allow shift swap, etc.}. This includes people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism or Sikhism, as well as people who have newer or less common religious beliefs, and atheists. As you consider these examples, you may find it helpful to review How to Disclose a Disability and Request Accommodations in the Workplace on JANs page for Individuals, which also provides more information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).