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  3. DAH- Accommodations for Employee Religious Belief or Conscience

DAH- Accommodations for Employee Religious Belief or Conscience

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Addopted:  August 12024

DAH- Accommodations for Employee Religious Belief or
Conscience

Definitions

“Conscience” means a sincerely held belief as to the rightness or wrongness of an action or inaction.

“Task” means a specific job, duty, or function.

“Undue hardship” means a substantial burden, privation, or adversity on the District that would result from granting an employee’s request to be relieved from performing a certain task when considering all relevant factors, including:

  • The practical impact on the District in light of the nature, size, and operating cost of the District;
  • The disruption of the District’s operations;
  • The nature of the employee’s duties;
  • The number of employees the District would be required to grant a request to if the District grants the employee’s request;
  • The type of workplace; and
  • The number of requests by the employee in the 12 months preceding the request.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(1) (2024)

Request for Accommodations

District employees may request to be relieved from performing a certain task if doing so would conflict with the employee’s conscience or sincerely held religious beliefs.

The request shall be made in writing. The request shall specifically identify the task and describe when and how it is to be performed and shall explain why the task would conflict with the employee’s conscience or sincerely held religious belief. The request shall be given to the employee’s supervisor.

The request shall be made as soon as practicable but not more than two days after the day on which the employee first receives the assignment to perform the task. If the employee is asked to begin performing the task sooner than two days after the employee first received the assignment, then the employee may immediately request to be relieved from performing the task by either oral or written request to the employee’s supervisor stating that performing the task would conflict with the employee’s conscience or sincerely held religious beliefs and why it would conflict.

The employee shall provide the District with a reasonable opportunity to grant the request or otherwise address the employee’s concerns. If the time to begin performing the task is sooner than the District is able to respond to the request, the employee will not be required to perform the task until the District responds unless the task is required for safety or to preserve property and arranging for another employee to perform the task while the request is pending creates a substantial burden on the District.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(3) (2024)

Response to Request for Accommodation

A supervisor who receives a request for accommodation shall immediately forward that request to the Director of Human Resources.

The Director of Human Resources shall evaluate the request as provided in this policy, determine whether it will be granted, and provide a written response. The written response shall refer to this policy. If the request is denied, the response shall include an explanation of the decision and state either why granting the request would impose an undue hardship on the District or which exception supports the denial. The written denial shall also inform the employee that if the employee    appeals to the Superintendent and the appeal is denied, the employee may file a court action seeking review of the decision within 120 days of the decision as provided for under Utah Code § 67-27-106(6).

The District’s response shall be provided as soon as practicable but at least five days before the day on which the task is to be performed. The employee and District may by mutual agreement waive or extend this time requirement. If no response is provided within the required time and there is no agreement to waive or extend the deadline, the request will be deemed denied and the employee may appeal to the Superintendent as provided below.

If the request is denied, the employee may appeal the denial to the Superintendent in writing within two days of the denial, explaining why the employee believes the denial was in error. The Superintendent shall evaluate and respond to the appeal in writing as soon as practicable but in any event not more than two working days after receiving the appeal. The Superintendent’s decision is final and not subject to further appeal.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(4), (5) (2024)

Standards for Granting Accommodation

If the employee has met the time and content requirements for making a request, a request will be granted unless one of the exceptions apply or unless granting the request would impose an undue hardship on the District. A request need not be granted if any of the following exceptions apply:

  • The employee’s assertion of religious belief or conscience is done for an improper purpose;
  • Granting the request would create an unavoidable conflict with an existing legal obligation of the District;
  • The request is to be relieved from performing a task that is part of training or safety instructions directly related to the employee’s employment; or
  • Granting the request would result in a deficit in the amount of work for which the employee is compensated.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(2) (2024)

In making the determination, the person evaluating the request shall consider the specifics of the employee’s request and all relevant information available to the person, including the employee’s particular work assignment responsibilities. In evaluating whether granting the request would impose undue hardship on the District, the person shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to the factors listed above in the definition of “undue hardship.”

Utah Code § 67-27-106(5)(b)(v) (2024)

No Retaliation

The District shall not take any retaliatory action against an employee for requesting an accommodation under this policy. Retaliatory action includes dismissal, reduction of compensation, failure to increase compensation by an amount the employee would otherwise be entitled to or was promised, failing to promote the employee if the employee would otherwise be promoted, or threatening to take any of these actions. However, this restriction does not preclude disciplinary action against the employee if the request is determined to be without merit.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(1)(f), (8) (2024)

Notice to Employees

Each current employee of the District shall be informed of and given access to a copy of this policy upon its adoption by the Board of Education. Thereafter, each new employee shall be informed of and given access to a copy of this policy at the time of hire.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(5)(c)(i) (2024)

Private Information

Records which contain information about an employee’s request for an accommodation under this policy, including but not limited to the written request and the response to the request, are classified as private records under GRAMA.

Utah Code § 67-27-106(1)(a), (7) (2024)
Utah Code § 63G-2-302(1)(ee) (2024)