Religious Exemption Denial Steps 

1. Request that your employer provide you with the steps on how to appeal the denial. Follow those appeal steps, if any. Even if they say there is no appeal, review the PJI guidelines on requesting a religious exemption here. Submit a revised request if you think that is necessary, even if it is past the deadline. Your rights against religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 can still be asserted. Do not use form letters or letters you found online. It needs to be your personal beliefs.

    1. If the denial is final and you want to pursue the matter further, you must file a complaint with either the regional office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or your State’s equivalent. Note that some states may require you to file with them in order to preserve specific state rights.
    1. What constitutes a violation? When an employer requires an action that violates your sincerely held religious beliefs, and you communicate those beliefs to your employer, the employer should then meet with you to discuss ways to accommodate your beliefs. Only if all reasonable accommodations would create an undue hardship on your employer can they move to dismiss you.

4. After you file your complaint, the matter will either be resolved by the government agency or you will receive a right to sue letter. It is important to go through either the EEOC or your State’s equivalent before you can bring a matter to court. Courts will throw employment cases out if this process is not followed. There are often strict time limits on filing with the EEOC. Some states will have time limits that are unique to them.

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5. After you receive a right to sue letter from either the EEOC or the State agency, you may contact the PJI Legal Dept. to review your records and determine if you have a viable case in which we can represent you or refer you to an employment law attorney.

The EEOC and equivalent state agency processes are designed to be used by individuals and do not require a lawyer to be involved.

Due to the extraordinary volume of requests, we are receiving at this time, PJI is unable to review and comment on every exemption letter being sent to us. Following the above guidelines should, however, put you in the strongest position to either have your request granted, or to contest its denial.

Regards,

PJI Legal Team

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