Both State and Federal laws require an employer to accommodate an employee’s religious practice unless accommodation would cause an “undue hardship,” . The Courts have interpreted that to mean that almost any hardship will justify an employers refusal to accommodate.
Probably one of the most common types of accommodation that a religious person might ask for is try and tell others about his or her faith or to be able to proselytize in the workplace. In Jones v. Angelo State Univ., 2015 WL 9436523 (Tex. App.—Austin 2015), an evangelical Christian employee claimed he was discharged from his position as a professor for “sharing his faith” at the beginning of each class after being instructed not to do so. In the his wrongful termination lawsuit against the university, the university argued that the employee’s failure to accommodate claim was barred because he filed his administrative charge more than 180 days after he learned of the school’s decision to prohibit his practice. However, the court held that it was the adverse job action—in this case discharge—that triggered the running of time limit for a failure to accommodate charge. Since the district court had failed to consider the substance of the accommodation claim, the court remanded the case for further proceedings on that claim.
However I would be surprised if this employee will win his case. The law on religious accommodation is not very good for employees asking for an accommodation. Because the standard is so low and there is a balance of the rights of the person who wants to “share their faith” with those other employees (or clients) who will be subjected to the proselytizing. However this is a good case for those who wait to file a claim with the EEOC until they are fired instead of filing a claim when their accommodation is denied. However I will say that there are cases that go the other way and this is very risky to wait. Many Texas Courts will start the 180 day running from the time of the denial of the accommodation and not from the termination. The most important thing to note is to seek out the advice of a board certified employment lawyer when you first feel discriminated against. But be advised that there is a very low standard for your employer to deny your accommodation in religious discrimination cases involving proselytizing.
On a positive note, the Courts have been very protective of hiring and termination based upon religion. So if you are denied a raise or promotion because you are not of the same religion as your supervisor you may have a good case for discrimination.