Employers hope to have a prayer in accommodating religious beliefs

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal court of appeals covering Texas) recently issued a crucial decision interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court pronouncement on an employer’s obligations when an employee seeks a reasonable accommodation for a religious belief or practice. Employers must do much, much more than previously required.

Who wins? Full beard/long hair vs. grooming mandate

Elimelech Shim Hebrew was hired by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) as a prison guard. When he showed up for orientation, his training officers saw he sported a full beard and long hair. They weren’t pleased and told him to shave the beard and cut the hair because rules are rules.

Hebrew retorted that his Nazarite belief system forbade him from doing so. He was therefore placed on administrative leave. He requested a religious accommodation to be exempt from the rule, and two months later, the TDCJ finally sent him a letter denying the request: