Religious Belief and Lifestyle Discrimination

Does your employer have a right to regulate your appearance and behavior? Lifestyle discrimination can involve elements of employee appearance and behavior that may appear to fall within an employer’s right to regulate. However, if your appearance or behavior are related to an underlying religious or sexual orientation preference, then employer regulations may be considered discriminatory. An experienced discrimination attorney can help you to understand your rights.

Do your employers’ policies address any of the following?

• Religious attire
• Extreme hair style or color
• Excessive make-up
• Under-dressing
• Gender specific apparel or bathroom use
• Visible tattoos and piercings

Would your manager consider examples like these when evaluating a religious accommodation request?

• Scientology
• Veganism
• Pentecostalism
• Onion heads
• Evangelical Christian
• Wiccan
• Church of Body Modification

Do you have questions about your employers’ policies regarding lifestyle and appearance, such as:

• What is lifestyle discrimination? What is Religious discrimination?
• Can my employer prohibit piercings, tattoos and provocative attire?
• Can my employer treat me differently based on my gender-identity or religion?
• What about body appearance and weight?
• What is national origin discrimination?
• What is considered vulgar?
• Can my employer prohibit Social media use and conduct outside the workplace?
• Smoking: what is my employer allowed to do?
• Can I be subject to legal disciplinary actions for violating the company’s policy?
• Are there special considerations for union and government employees?
• Does my employer even have a lawful appearance and behavior policy?
• What if my employer is inconsistent in enforcing its policies?

If you have questions about your employers’ policies, or concerns that you are being discriminated against based on your religious beliefs or lifestyle choices, contact one of our experienced employment law attorneys for a free consultation.

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