As an eclectic nation of varying religious and non-religious people, the United States ever is evolving its customs to include, or more importantly to ensure it does not exclude, the varying religious beliefs found here. Not long ago, public school students received a “Christmas vacation.” Then, not to exclude other religious holidays around this time period, public school students instead received a “Holiday vacation.” Now, to ensure no one is excluded, public school students simply receive a “Winter vacation.”
Your workplace likely went through a similar change in designating office closures this time of year. The point of highlighting this change is not to debate whether we as a society are or are not overly politically correct or whether the distinction in names is or is not trivial. Instead, the point is that generally accepted customs, ideas, and thoughts change and evolve over time. Whether you are an employer, manager, supervisor, or co-worker, we all must be mindful that what once was generally acceptable in the workplace may now be considered discriminatory or harassing.
Under both Federal and Texas law it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person based on that person’s religious beliefs. This means an employer cannot discriminate based on someone’s particular religious practice or lack thereof. These employment laws, however, do not preclude individuals from expressing their personal religious beliefs. As an employer or supervisor, though, you must be mindful about your religious beliefs and ensure your employees and/or subordinates do not believe they are treated differently because of their religious beliefs or because their religious beliefs do not align with yours.
With that said, celebrate the season as you wish. Just remember your obligations and responsibilities as an employer.
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Do you have a recommendation for addressing an employee who sent a very religious Christmas card to "all-employees" from company email?
ReplyDeleteThis can be a very difficult situation and often times the answer will vary on individualized circumstances. First, I would recommend ensuring your employee handbook addresses the use of company emails and mass-emails. If sending a mass-email is against company policy you could address your employee’s Christmas email as simply a policy violation and not discuss the merits of the email. If you do not have a company policy regarding mass-emails then any discussion with the employee might be perceived by the employee as religious discrimination. Instead of confronting your employee, you might instead inform your supervisors that any employee concerns should be documented and investigated. During the investigation the employees at issue should be reminded that religious differences are accepted in your office and that everyone must be mindful of others’ religious beliefs.
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