"N.Y. law expands employers' requirement to accommodate religion"

("The Business Review," October 14, 2002)

Employers must accommodate employee religious practices, under the provisions of a new New York state law.

The new legislation recently signed by Gov. George Pataki expands current law by requiring employers to accommodate a worker's need to wear distinctive dress for religious reasons, or to take time during the day to visit a church, mosque, synagogue, or other place of worship.

The law makes it illegal for employers to punish workers, or to refuse to hire people, because of their religious practices.

State law has allowed employees to take time off for religious holidays and Sabbath observances. The new law expands those rights. Employers must allow employees to wear distinctive dress like a turban, yarmulke, or head scarf.

Employers must accommodate these rights as long as it would not be an undue hardship on them, the new law says. It clarifies existing state religious protection statutes by requiring the courts to take "reasonable factors" into consideration when determining an employer's burden under the new law.

The law also makes it clear that other employees cannot be required to sacrifice their rights in order to accommodate a coworker.