A bill to prohibit discrimination against employes who observe religious holidays and practices has passed the Massachusetts House of Representatives. According to Representative Jon Rotenberg of Brookline, who introduced the bill, the Senate is expected to approve it in several weeks. The bill applies to persons of all faiths.
Currently, religious discrimination is prohibited under Federal law only in inter-state businesses. The Massachusetts bill would apply to intra-state businesses as well.
If the bill is passed, a person who feels there has been discrimination because of religion, will be able to either take the case to court or to the Massachusetts Council Against Discrimination. Presently, a complainant can only go before the judiciary body of the MACD which Rotenberg called a slow and inefficient process.
Rotenberg told JTA that the bill says an employer cannot deny a job to an applicant. If his or her religious practices merely conflict with employment practices. He said that if the bill passes, the employer will have to prove that undue hardship would result in the hiring of that person.
The bill, which is still subject to revision, sets out guidelines for determining religious discrimination against an employe and undue hardships for the employer but the courts or MACD will have the responsibility and power to specifically define and interpret the terms.
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