Rule 3341-5-22 | Religious accommodation.
(A) Policy statement and purpose
To set out the university policy governing the accommodation of religious observances by university employees.
(B) Policy
It is the policy of the university to comply with the applicable provisions of state and federal law governing the religious accommodation. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of religion and requires that they take steps to accommodate the religious practices and needs of their employees. At BGSU, all employees, faculty, administrative and classified staff, are to be granted a two-hour release time period to attend any religious service or to meet a religious need that occurs during normal working hours. There may be no loss of compensation, vacation or personal time for this period.
(1) Religious practice or need is defined broadly to include moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong that are sincerely held by the individual person with the strength of traditional religious views. Arrangements for a religious practice must be made in advance with the employee's immediate supervisor. The university will make good faith efforts to provide a reasonable accommodation of an employee's sincerely held religious belief, unless the university believes such an accommodation would create an undue hardship.
(2) It is recognized that in some instances religious observances occur on days that have not been designated as legal holidays by state or federal law. Arrangements relative to time off, such as rearranging a work schedule, are to be mutually agreed upon by the employee and the immediate supervisor. If arrangements relative to the exchange of time cannot be reasonably made without resulting in undue hardship, the excess time the individual is excused must be taken as vacation, personal leave, or leave without pay. Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible in the application of this policy and to make reasonable accommodation unless such an accommodation would clearly cause "undue hardship" in the conduct of university business.
Date: January 1, 2014
Last updated March 17, 2023 at 1:42 PM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3345
Prior Effective Dates: 3/17/2015