Mark Wiletsky

by Mark Wiletsky

Question: Do employers need to provide a space for employees to worship and/or pray in the office?

The short answer is: Maybe. You must reasonably accommodate em­ployees’ sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.

For decades, courts held that employers could deny such requests under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if the accommodation would impose more than a “de minimis” cost or burden. In June 2023, however, the U.S. Supreme Court “clarified” that standard. In Groff v. DeJoy, the Court held that employers can deny requests for religious accommodation only if the accommodation would result in “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of [an employ­er’s] particular business.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Com­mission (EEOC) has provided similar guidance, stating that employers shouldn’t try to suppress all religious expression in the workplace. Read more >>

Dana Dobbins

By Dana Dobbins

Question: To be compliant with the PUMP Act, it states there must be a water source. Must this water source be in the same room as the designated space, or is nearby acceptable? It is difficult to identify a space that can be locked, quiet, and private that is not a bathroom but also has a sink.

Answer: The federal Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) was signed into law on December 29, 2022. The PUMP Act requires em-ployers to provide covered employees with “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shield-ed from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.” 29 U.S.C. 218d(a)(2). This law does not require that a water source be within the designated lactation space. Read more >>