Diversity initiatives, religious freedom, and LGBTQ+ rights can coexist at work

Maintaining a diverse workforce is increasingly necessary for companies to be competitive and successful in the global marketplace. But what happens when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives collide head-on with your obligation to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs? Employers are facing such dilemmas with increasing frequency as they build and strengthen their efforts toward a diverse and equitable workplace.

Title VII's protections come into play

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts Bostock v. Clayton County decision recognizing that LGBTQ+ employees are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are increasingly finding themselves in the difficult position of having to weigh often diametrically opposed rights: religious freedom versus LGBTQ+ rights. How do you choose? It's simple: You don't.

The rights (one employee's "sincerely held religious beliefs" versus another worker's gender identity/transgender status and sexual orientation) are both protected by Title VII and other state and local laws: