I am looking for some feedback or thoughts. I recently was hired as the HR Manager of a company in Salt Lake City, UT. Great company, wonderful people. Every month the company sponsors a company luncheon and someone says a prayer. I had a temp guy make a comment about it being illegal. I know it is not illegal but could be considered discrimation if someone finds it offensive. The company has grown from about 10 employees to 80 and as we grow I know that we will have more diversity, I would love to hear anyones feedback on this, I moved here from CA and it is different than what I am use to.

Thanks

You are largely on your own in terms of figuring out how to deliver the message.  It's highly sensitive to who the people are, what they're like, the degree of power held by HR in your Company, and all sorts of things that we don't really know.  The message, however, is simple: if employees start feeling like they're not being included in work-related events because of their religion, they will start seeing that they are being excluded, whether that's true or not.  That will eventually end up leading to people talking to state or federal agencies, which can result in a possibly uncomfortable and definitely expensive situation for your Company.  It can also mushroom into additional, unintended action when word gets out such as individuals beginning to question why they were not hired (promoted, given a raise, trained, etc).  I'm sure you know all this, but figuring out how to package it to leadership in a way that makes them pay heed for the good of the Company without jeopardizing your role with the Company or yoru own job as a newer person showing up (from California, no less!!!) and rocking the boat.

Utah escapes the 9th circuit: it's in the 10th and I don't know a whole lot about the 10th's stance on such matters but federal law is pretty clear.

As you also probably know, Sexual Harassment is merely an extension of sex discrimination.  You can have religious harassment as well in the same vein.  While most people would not equate quid pro quo sexual harassment with "inviting" someone to their place of worship in order to advance in the Company, they are more alike than not in the eyes of the law and your employer needs to know that.

are employees required to go to this luncheon? are employees reprimanded if they fail to attend or participate in the meeting because they are uncomfortable with the prayer?  are there important networking opportunities that they miss? if they are they could argue that you are discriminating against them because of their religion. even if it doesn't afoul of discrimination law the prayer doesn't highlight that your company is inclusive.

TXHRGuy:

The message, however, is simple: if employees start feeling like they're not being included in work-related events because of their religion, they will start seeing that they are being excluded, whether that's true or not. 

The key to the company moving forward is inclusion.  It is very difficult for a company to transition from a small company to a medium sized company or bigger small sized company for that matter.  Those who employees who have been with the company though the growth can be resentful of the changes that need to be made in order to include all the new employees.  It is difficult for owner/operators to understand that their style may need to change as well to accommodate new employees. 

Prayer is probably something that the small group cherishes and it will be difficult for them to talk about or want to change.  You'll be slaying a saced cow, no pun intended.  My best advice is to be open and honest about the message they are unknowingly sending.  I would start by asking management to describe the type of culture they plan to build, and how that and any other activity fits into the plan.  It may very well be that they have not thought about the culture they wish to cultivate in the company. 

 

One thing you have to keep in mind before you talk to the owners is that Salt Lake City is known as being a very religious. It is very different then most places in California, which are very tolerant of different lifestyles.  You can compare Salt Lake City to some small towns in the Southern part of the country, known as the Bible Belt.  Just about everything revolves around religion.  It is very hard for these individuals to understand that some people are not religious or choose to practice a religion other than the one they are used to. 

I think the best course of action is to have an open line of communication with the owners. Let them know that someone came to you, confidentially, because they have an issue with what is going on.  It could be as simple as they have never had this brought up before b/c it is just what they have always done.  Or it could be a big deal because this prayer is something that they aren't going to stop just because someone complains.  

One question that came to mind is what would the owners say/do if someone asked to say a different prayer or action that was from another faith?

You are correct. It is not illegal to conduct prayer. Best advice is to have the person that offers prayer state that those that do not wish to participate don't have to. If someone tries to state discrimination indicate a disclaimer. We had this issue in Rotary, of all places. We had to "rotate" reference to Jesus and reference God only every other prayer. Best option there was to provide the disclaimer statement and allow a moment of silence. Some members left Rotary because of the issue. Rotary is not a faith based organization. Is your company faith based?

I will have to agree with Alison as well as the other posts. I reside in AL (The Bible belt) and prayer is something that my CEO does before every meal that we as an organization have. They key is inclusion. We have a large Muslin population and many say their traditional prayer and those that do not pray at all simply exit the room until the blessing of the meal is over. We have not had that issue- but it is the best way to handle such a delicate and sensitive issue. Good luck

 

 

 

 

Angie

Director of Human Resources 

 

Whew, can I relate.  I moved from Michigan to South Carolina and on the first day on my new job, I got a hug from one of my female co-workers, I knew that I was in for something totally different.  My workplace not only says grace before the meal, we hold hands.  I have learned to deal with it and to slip a small bottle of handsanitizer in my pocket before eating functions.

A thought to ponder would be to consider a policy similar to the military's stance when Chaplains pray for/with troops of varied denominations, they are not to "pray in Jesus name" or use any specific name of "God", as to not offend those present who may use a different term.  General prayers are given with the assumption that those praying would pray to whatever higher power they choose.  Additionally, it should be noted that the prayer is optional for those wishing to participate.

rwoomer:

Additionally, it should be noted that the prayer is optional for those wishing to participate.

This is not a total defense.  Men's clubs became coed when it was shown that work was done at the men's clubs that were excluding women.  If it is perceived that the people who hold any particular faith fare better at work than others, you can end up with claims that are expensive to deal with even if the company wins.  What would happen if someone chose not to hold hands during the saying of grace before lunch in the company cafeteria?  What if they broke out into prayer in a different language?

While it's true that prayer is not illegal, it is true that prayer can be devisive.  The moment people of a different, minority faith, or no faith at all begin to feel that they are being shafted because they don't share the faith of the leadership or the majority of employees, then bad things can start to happen both culturally within the organization as well as outside the organization in terms of external claims.  Let's not pretend that this is not a risky area for employers.