Reasonable Accomodations for Religious Purposes - Friday Prayers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

I think that could work for Muslims because there dont seem to be many mosques in DC. I think it would be harder as a Christian since they could just say go to the church down the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

Okay so wiccan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

Okay so wiccan?

Oops that was a typo. Not sure of what to be honest lol but it’s not supposed to be there.

[Anonymous]

I know multiple people who have recently received permission to WAH on Fridays for religious preparation reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

I think that could work for Muslims because there dont seem to be many mosques in DC. I think it would be harder as a Christian since they could just say go to the church down the street.

So you're going to deny a conservative Baptist's religious accommodation and tell them to go to a Unitarian Universalist church instead? No supervisor would have the balls to do that, sorry. Or maybe you all just don't get the goals of this administration, they would literally fire you for religious discrimination and anti-christian bias.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any Muslims successfully applied for an RA to attend Friday (Jummah) prayers? I’m a child of 9/11 and have spent my entire career trying to fly under the radar as a Muslim. I never say why I’m off for Eid, I don’t tell anyone I’m fasting unless I have to, no one knows I pray in my office. However, I’m at the point where being a fed sucks so bad, why not seek out this one accommodation and attend Friday prayers at my mosque every single week? I am worried about perceptions but I know I have a reputation for being hard working and capable.

Has anyone else thought about it or applied for it?

OP my coworker did this and it was approved right away. I’m Muslim too and am hesitant for the same reasons you are. I try to be under the radar witch religion and don’t want to be identified as a practicing Muslim. Anyways my coworker basically said that she needs to attend Friday congregational prayers every Friday, gave the name and location of the mosque, said it was right next to her house (it is), and said that there is no alternative.

I think that could work for Muslims because there dont seem to be many mosques in DC. I think it would be harder as a Christian since they could just say go to the church down the street.

So you're going to deny a conservative Baptist's religious accommodation and tell them to go to a Unitarian Universalist church instead? No supervisor would have the balls to do that, sorry. Or maybe you all just don't get the goals of this administration, they would literally fire you for religious discrimination and anti-christian bias.

No that wasn't my point. I was saying that for many Christian religions there are more churches in DC so likely to find your same denomination there. It's true if youre a niche Christian faith you could benefit the same way but Catholics for example wouldnt because they could say go to the catholic church down the street.

[Anonymous]

You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

Im the PP and honestly I hope everyone can find a way to get TW back. At the same time, its important to remember that you dont get to pick your accommodation so if you say i need to go to catholic mass they can say fine go to catholic mass then come back to work.

The key will be to craft your RA request in such a way that it is particulalrized in such a way that permits TW. Again, I really do hope everyone finds a way to get more flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

Im the PP and honestly I hope everyone can find a way to get TW back. At the same time, its important to remember that you dont get to pick your accommodation so if you say i need to go to catholic mass they can say fine go to catholic mass then come back to work.

The key will be to craft your RA request in such a way that it is particulalrized in such a way that permits TW. Again, I really do hope everyone finds a way to get more flexibility.

Look, we keep telling you that you're wrong. These aren't physical disability accommodations where they will deny your request because severe backpain doesn't mean you can't commute and a standing desk will "suffice." They can't ask you much of anything about your religious RA and it's on the agency to prove there would be a significant impact to operations.

Again you can deny disabled people all day but there are very high standards to deny religious RAs and plenty of ways to get fired for doing so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

Im the PP and honestly I hope everyone can find a way to get TW back. At the same time, its important to remember that you dont get to pick your accommodation so if you say i need to go to catholic mass they can say fine go to catholic mass then come back to work.

The key will be to craft your RA request in such a way that it is particulalrized in such a way that permits TW. Again, I really do hope everyone finds a way to get more flexibility.

Look, we keep telling you that you're wrong. These aren't physical disability accommodations where they will deny your request because severe backpain doesn't mean you can't commute and a standing desk will "suffice." They can't ask you much of anything about your religious RA and it's on the agency to prove there would be a significant impact to operations.

Again you can deny disabled people all day but there are very high standards to deny religious RAs and plenty of ways to get fired for doing so.

We have a 20 page internal agency guidance document that says otherwise developed by the chief human capital officer. Its handled basically the same as a disability RA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

Im the PP and honestly I hope everyone can find a way to get TW back. At the same time, its important to remember that you dont get to pick your accommodation so if you say i need to go to catholic mass they can say fine go to catholic mass then come back to work.

The key will be to craft your RA request in such a way that it is particulalrized in such a way that permits TW. Again, I really do hope everyone finds a way to get more flexibility.

Look, we keep telling you that you're wrong. These aren't physical disability accommodations where they will deny your request because severe backpain doesn't mean you can't commute and a standing desk will "suffice." They can't ask you much of anything about your religious RA and it's on the agency to prove there would be a significant impact to operations.

Again you can deny disabled people all day but there are very high standards to deny religious RAs and plenty of ways to get fired for doing so.

I think you are putting too much emphasis on the word, “significant.” Yes, it is true that the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff redefined the de minimus standard for showing undue hardship for religious accommodations. However, in my view, the standard for undue hardship in religious accommodation cases is now similar to the undue hardship in disability reasonable accommodation cases. Telework once or twice a week probably won’t pose an undue hardship for most occupations, but full time telework will likely be harder to get as a religious accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are full of anger and sh&t PP. If I want to go to my regular place of worship (near home) for a Bible study that meets on Friday mornings you can bet the farm that I will not be told I have to find a different church closer to work. And there is no requirement that I prove my attendance at the Bible study is a mandatory requirement of my faith. Sorry that you hate this situation.

Im the PP and honestly I hope everyone can find a way to get TW back. At the same time, its important to remember that you dont get to pick your accommodation so if you say i need to go to catholic mass they can say fine go to catholic mass then come back to work.

The key will be to craft your RA request in such a way that it is particulalrized in such a way that permits TW. Again, I really do hope everyone finds a way to get more flexibility.

Look, we keep telling you that you're wrong. These aren't physical disability accommodations where they will deny your request because severe backpain doesn't mean you can't commute and a standing desk will "suffice." They can't ask you much of anything about your religious RA and it's on the agency to prove there would be a significant impact to operations.

Again you can deny disabled people all day but there are very high standards to deny religious RAs and plenty of ways to get fired for doing so.

I think you are putting too much emphasis on the word, “significant.” Yes, it is true that the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff redefined the de minimus standard for showing undue hardship for religious accommodations. However, in my view, the standard for undue hardship in religious accommodation cases is now similar to the undue hardship in disability reasonable accommodation cases. Telework once or twice a week probably won’t pose an undue hardship for most occupations, but full time telework will likely be harder to get as a religious accommodation.

That's fine, I'll take 2 days a week telework for whatever religious purposes. Better than paying for doctors appointments and getting notes.