Tips for Managing Conscience in the Workplace

 

Over the last few years, conscientious refusals in the workplace have constantly been in the news: from Hobby Lobby, to Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, to health care providers and abortion, to, most recently, Kim Davis and other county clerks’ refusals to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Employers in all types of workplaces are being confronted with questions about when religious accommodation for conscientious refusals begins to interfere with employees’ essential job responsibilities.

Employers need to be aware of this ongoing issue in order to effectively manage conscientious refusals in their own workplaces. The following are four essential tips to help employers when it comes to conscientious refusals in the workplace:

1) There are differences between refusing to provide a service at all, and refusing to provide a service only to some people. Healthcare providers, for example, usually have the right to refuse to provide abortions based on their religious beliefs. However, healthcare providers cannot refuse—for religious or other reasons—to treat a patient because of his or her race, gender or other legally protected category. The first action is a conscientious refusal; the second is discrimination.

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For more on creating inclusive workplace accommodations, see Tanenbaum’s 8 Steps to the Accommodation Mindset

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