New Jersey Amends Law Against Discrimination to Require Accommodation of Religious Beliefs

The New Jersey legislature amended the state's Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") effective January 13, 2008. The amendment requires employers to reasonably accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs  of its employees and applicants, including allowing time off to observe the Sabbath or other holy days, unless to do so would impose an undue burden. 

      The amendment provides that an employer may not "impose upon a person as a condition of obtaining or retaining employment, including opportunities for promotion, advancement or transfers, any terms or conditions that would require a person to violate or forego a sincerely held religious practice or religious observance" unless "after engaging in a bona fide effort the employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business."

       The amendment does not define "bona fide effort" to reach a reasonable accommodation. As to "undue hardship, the amendment defines it "as an "accommodation requiring (1) unreasonable expense or difficulty, (2) unreasonable interference with the safe or efficient operation of the workplace, (3) a violation of a bona fide seniority system or (4) a violation of any provision of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement. The amendment further provides "an accommodation shall be considered to constitute an undue hardship if it will result in the inability of an employee to perform the essential functions of the position in which he or she is employed," and (2) no accommodation is required "where the uniform application of terms and conditions of attendance to employees is essential to prevent undue hardship to the employer."  

    As to the effect on pay and benefits of granting a religious accommodation, the amendment provides an employee is not entitled to any "premium wages"or "premium benefits" that would otherwise be applicable to the hours worked by the employee as an accommodation.  So if an employee works the night shift or a Sunday or holiday that is not his or own as an accommodation, the employee is not entitled to any pay differential that might otherwise be applicable.