Attorney General Schneiderman to defend religious rights
Posted: 11.09.2011 at 11:56 AM

ALBANY (AP) -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is set to announce an enforcement initiative to protect the
religious rights of increasingly diverse New Yorkers at work and elsewhere.

The attorney general's office is targeting faith-based discrimination with outreach, inviting reports of potential violations, issuing guidance on workplace measures like flexible scheduling and dress codes, and threatening civil rights lawsuits
for violations.

The office has assigned legal staff and begun issuing publications outlining worker rights under state and federal laws. They require employers to accommodate religious practices such as observance of holy days, unless that creates an "undue hardship" on the employer, and try to accommodate religious dress and prayer during the workday.

Schneiderman is expected to detail the initiative in a speech Wednesday before the Anti-Defamation League in New York City.

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