Jeffrey Berman Quoted in Law360
"Bill Barring Bias Over Religious Garb Clears Calif. Assembly"

Seyfarth Shaw Labor and Employment partner Jeffrey Berman is quoted in the May 30 edition of Law360 regarding the Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2012. The bill provides that religious attire and hairstyles are protected religious observances under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act. Additionally, it also clarifies that giving an employee job duties out of the public eye is not a reasonable accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs under the law.

The article also defines what constitutes an “undue hardship” for an employer in the accommodation of a religious employee more stringently than federal law does. "The change to the 'undue hardship' standard could also prove significant…"  says Jeff. The definition provided by the bill states "undue hardship" for religious accommodation is defined as significant difficulty or expense. The article asserts that this bill heightens the standards for employers, Jeff comments, "It increases the obligation of employers to reasonably accommodate by abrogating the de minimis standard for 'undue hardship' for a standard that is much closer to what you would see in the disability context." The bill as of now will only affect California, however, the article asserts that there are hopes that this bill will serve as a role model for other states.