On Thursday, March 15, CAIR-Columbus Legal Director Romin Iqbal, gave a presentation at a Cleveland Employment Inn of Courts meeting on issues relating to providing religious accommodations for employees in the workplace. In his presentation, Mr. Iqbal focused on religious accommodation laws at the state and federal level, including a discussion of cases where Courts have ruled on the definition of what constitutes a ‘reasonable accommodation’ and ‘undue burden’ in religious accommodation cases. Iqbal also discussed specific issues of religious accommodation faced by local Ohio Muslims.
“Since we regularly represent employees who have been victims of discrimination, this was a good opportunity for us to speak to a diverse group of lawyers, which included both plaintiff and management lawyers, and proactively discuss issues Muslims face in the workplace as well as offer suggestions for accommodations that do not pose an undue burden on employers,” said Iqbal. “This type of proactive discussion is invaluable in providing to management lawyers the tools and information needed to respond positively in future when their clients ask about accommodating Muslim employees.”
CAIR-Columbus offers a series of publications to explain relevant Muslim religious practices to employers, educators, healthcare providers, and law enforcement and correctional facility agents. The series includes a guide for employers that explains some basic Islamic religious practices including dress guidelines, holidays, prayer timing, and fasting. The guides can be viewed and downloaded here.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. The CAIR-Ohio affiliate has three chapters in Ohio – Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Their mission is to encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.