Can you discriminate on religion when hiring a caregiver

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

Are you sure? I think the example in the OP is definitely against DC law, but the example PP gives? Trying to whittle down the applicant pool by describing the tasks?

Is that different than if I advertised "Two mom family seeking local nanny" in the hopes that it would discourage homophobes?

It's likely not illegal to describe the tasks. It's illegal to say "I want a Christian nanny."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not "discrimination," OP, at least in legal terms.

I can state that I want a nanny who is 5'5" tall, has red hair and likes to sing. Is it "discrimination" if you want the job and don't fit the criteria.

Sorry this "rubs you the wrong way." You really need to get out more.

Religion is a protected class. You cannot advertise that want a nanny who is white, correct?

I have seen a million posts on dcum of people asking for a doctor or nurse or whatever who is black.

Sure, but the patient is not the doctor’s employer so those laws don’t apply to the patient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not "discrimination," OP, at least in legal terms.

I can state that I want a nanny who is 5'5" tall, has red hair and likes to sing. Is it "discrimination" if you want the job and don't fit the criteria.

Sorry this "rubs you the wrong way." You really need to get out more.

Religion is a protected class. You cannot advertise that want a nanny who is white, correct?

I have seen a million posts on dcum of people asking for a doctor or nurse or whatever who is black.

Sure, but the patient is not the doctor’s employer so those laws don’t apply to the patient.

Right.

Wow -- some of you really need to learn more about how these laws work. These are EMPLOYMENT laws. They apply to employers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

No, you can certainly require an employee to support your children’s religious education. You can also pick the person who shows the most enthusiasm for it and is most qualified. The only issue is if you pick someone less qualified who fits the criteria you want which violates the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

No, you can certainly require an employee to support your children’s religious education. You can also pick the person who shows the most enthusiasm for it and is most qualified. The only issue is if you pick someone less qualified who fits the criteria you want which violates the law.

You can say "this job will require supporting a Christian religious education through working on materials."

You can't say "I am looking for a Christian nanny."

[Anonymous]

It’s illegal to deny employment because of religion. Beyond that, it is just a stupid request. Anyone can lie and say they are a Christian. People do it constantly nowadays.

We are Jewish with a Muslim nanny and Catholic housekeeper.

[Anonymous]

Better idea is to just include required tasks blatantly against the religions you don't like in your job description. For example, "must cook and serve pork one meal per day," "must guide children in bible study and prayer each evening," "must place gay pride flag outside house each morning and take down each evening." Lol!Got em!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

So? So is speeding and I've done that a couple of times. Bet you have too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

No, you can certainly require an employee to support your children’s religious education. You can also pick the person who shows the most enthusiasm for it and is most qualified. The only issue is if you pick someone less qualified who fits the criteria you want which violates the law.

You can say "this job will require supporting a Christian religious education through working on materials."

You can't say "I am looking for a Christian nanny."

Don't tell me what I can and can't do, please.

If I'm looking for a Christian nanny, or a Jewish nanny, or a female nanny - or housekeeper -- and I want to state that, it's simply none of your business. You want to sue me, go ahead and try.

[Anonymous]

I often see ads for housekeepers or nannies saying "Looking for Filipina nanny/housekeeper."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most employers are smart enough to state what they want done, and the people who naturally are most enthusiastic about it are the ones who have the same values.

Ex: We want a nanny who will say grace before meals, read specific religious books to our children, agree not to read books about xyz topic that violates our religion and take our children to Sunday school, confirmation class and/or other religious classes or services. Naturally, the nanny most enthusiastic about doing these is one who likely identifies as Christian, and most likely shares their denomination.

And you know what? That's illegal in DC.

No, you can certainly require an employee to support your children’s religious education. You can also pick the person who shows the most enthusiasm for it and is most qualified. The only issue is if you pick someone less qualified who fits the criteria you want which violates the law.

You can say "this job will require supporting a Christian religious education through working on materials."

You can't say "I am looking for a Christian nanny."

Don't tell me what I can and can't do, please.

If I'm looking for a Christian nanny, or a Jewish nanny, or a female nanny - or housekeeper -- and I want to state that, it's simply none of your business. You want to sue me, go ahead and try.

NP. Federal/state laws are what are telling you that you can't do this. As for getting sued, if a candidate who was qualified other than one of your protected categories decided to apply and then sue, there would be a legitimate risk that you could get a civil judgment against you. And a court definitely can tell you what to do. (If I saw an advertisement like this and was qualified for the job, I would apply just to give myself a chance to position for a lawsuit.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I often see ads for housekeepers or nannies saying "Looking for Filipina nanny/housekeeper."

Occasionally, but usually the parents say something like “Nanny must be fluent in Tagalog” or “We prefer a native Spanish speaker” when they want to target language and possibly culture as well.

[Anonymous]

"Tasks include reading stories from the Bible and saying grace before every meal"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on our local facebook page has posted for a "Christian" nanny. This rubs me the wrong way - are you allowed to discriminate like this?

It is creepy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to require the person to be a certain religion.

You can say you expect them to read the bible to the child, take them to mass, etc

This is the issue. If a parent wants that, they have to make reference to that. A nanny has to have the same values as the family. I probably wouldn’t put it in an advert but yes if that’s what I’m looking for and it’s important I won’t hire if they don’t. Really it’s not any different than hiring an employee who won’t wear the clothes of the retail store. Missions values have to be followed or else why are you there?