U.S. flag
        An official website of the United States government
          Here’s how you know
        Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**
              
                A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
        **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
              
                A **lock** (
              A locked padlock
              ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive
                information only on official, secure websites.  Home
                    *U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission*

      search
      Menu
      Any of these words (optional)
Search

    close
            About EEOC
          
                        
  
    **About EEOC**
                        Overview
                                  The Commission and The General Counsel
                                  Commission Votes
                                  Meetings of the Commission
                                  EEOC History
                                  **News and Information**
                        Newsroom
                                  What You Should Know
                                  Legislative Affairs
                                  Publications
                                  Outreach and Education
                                  FOIA
              **Laws and Enforcement**
                        Laws, Regulations, Guidance and MOUs
                                  Discrimination by Type
                                  Mediation
                                  Litigation
                                  Systemic Enforcement
                                  Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations
              **Programs and Performance**
                        Budget and Performance
                                  Initiatives
                                  Interagency Programs
                                  State and Local Programs
                                  Task Forces
                                  Tribal Programs
              **Data and Analytics**
                        Overview
                                  Data Governance
                                  EEO Data Collections
                                  Data and Statistics
                                  Data Tools and Products
                                  No FEAR Act Data
                                  **Inside EEOC**
                        Careers
                                  Office for Civil Rights, Diversity and Inclusion
                                  Doing Business with EEOC
                                  Privacy
                                  Office of Inspector General
          
                                            
  
      
                  
                        Employees & Job Applicants
          
                        
  
    **Employees & Applicants**
                        Overview
                                  Coverage
                                  Timeliness
                                  Prohibited Practices
              **Filing a Charge of Discrimination**
                        Filing a Charge
                                  How to File
                                  After You File a Charge
                                  Confidentiality
                                  Mediation
                                  Remedies
                                  Existing Charges
                                  Filing a Lawsuit
              **Discrimination by Type**
                        Age
                                  Disability
                                  Equal Pay
                                  Genetic Information
                                  Harassment
                                  National Origin Discrimination
                                  Pregnancy Discrimination
                                  Race/Color Discrimination
                                  Religious Discrimination
                                  Retaliation
                                  Sex
                                  Sexual Harassment
                                  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
          
                                  
  
      
                  
                        Employers / Small Business
          
                        
  
    **Employers / Small Business**
                        Overview
                                  Coverage
                                  After a Charge is Filed
                                  Resolving a Charge
                                  Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations
                                  Remedies
              **Small Business Resource Center**
                        Small Business Home
                                  Small Business Requirements
                                  Frequently Asked Questions
                                  Tips for Small Businesses
                                  Making an Employment Decision?
                                  EEOC Resources
                                  Small Business Assistance
                                  Small Business Fact Sheet
                                  Small Business Videos
                                  EEOC Glossary
                                  Contact Us
              **Discrimination by Type**
                        Age
                                  Disability
                                  Equal Pay
                                  Genetic Information
                                  Harassment
                                  National Origin
                                  Pregnancy
                                  Race/Color
                                  Religion
                                  Retaliation
                                  Sex
                                  Sexual Harassment
                                  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
                                  Prohibited Practices
              Recordkeeping
                                  EEO Data Collections
                                  "Know Your Rights" Poster
                                  Training
                                  Other Employment Issues
          
                                            
  
      
                  
                        Federal Sector
          
                        
  
    **Federal Agencies**
                        Overview
                                  Federal EEO Coordination
                                  Federal Agency EEO Directors
                                  Laws, Regulations, Guidance & MOUs
                                  Management Directives & Federal Sector Guidance
                                  Federal Training & Outreach
                                  Resources
              **Federal Employees & Job Applicants**
                        Overview
                                  Federal Complaint Process
                                  Federal Sector Alternative Dispute Resolution
                                  Discrimination by Type
                                  Other Federal Protections
                                  Prohibited Practices
                                  Resources
          
                        
  
      
                  
                        Contact Us
          
                        
  
    Contact EEOC
                                  Find Your Nearest Office
                                  Office Operating Status
                                  Frequently Asked Questions

        
                  Languages
    English
              Español (Spanish)
                    Resources in Other Languages
                    عربي (Arabic)
              简体中文 (Chinese, Simplified)
              繁體中文 - Chinese (Traditional)
              Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole)
              한국어 (Korean)
              Русском (Russian)
              Tagalog (Tagalog)
              Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
              فارسی (Persian. Farsi)
              پښتو (Pashto)
          

  

  Breadcrumb
Home
  laws
  guidance
  Fact Sheet on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities

                      
                        

          
          
                        Fact Sheet on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities
            

      Translate this Page
    عربي (Arabic)简体中文 (Chinese, Simplified)繁體中文 - Chinese (Traditional)EnglishKreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole)한국어 (Korean)Русском (Russian)Español (Spanish)Tagalog (Tagalog)Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
              Issuing Authority
          

  This technical assistance document was issued upon approval of the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
        

  OLC Control Number
                                              EEOC-NVTA-2014-3


        

  Concise Display Name
                                              Fact Sheet on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities


        

  Issue Date
                                              03-06-2014


        

  General Topics
                                              Religion


                

  Summary
                                              This document summarizes how Title VII applies to the religious dress and grooming practices of applicants and employees, including when an employer has a legal responsibility to make exceptions to its usual rules or preferences.


        

  Citation
                                              Title VII, 29 CFR Part 1605


        

  Document Applicant
                                              Employees, Employers, Applicants, HR Practitioners


        

  Previous Revision
                                              No


        Disclaimer
          

  The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.Notice Concerning the Undue Hardship Standard in Title VII Religious Accommodation Cases.

This document was issued prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in *Groff v. DeJoy*, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). The *Groff* opinion clarified that “showing ‘more than a de minimis cost’...does not suffice to establish undue hardship under Title VII.” Instead, the Supreme Court held that “undue hardship is shown when a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business,” “tak[ing] into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodations at issue and their practical impact in light of the nature, size and operating cost of an employer.” *Groff* supersedes any contrary information on this webpage. For more information about the EEOC’s resources on religious discrimination, please see https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

This fact sheet provides basic information about how federal employment discrimination law applies to religious dress and grooming practices. A full-length question-and-answer guide is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/religious-garb-and-grooming-workplace-rights-and-responsibilities.

**In most instances, employers covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must make exceptions to their usual rules or preferences to permit applicants and employees to follow religious dress and grooming practices.** Examples of religious dress and grooming practices may include: wearing religious clothing or articles (*e.g.*, a Christian cross, a Muslim hijab (headscarf), a Sikh turban, a Sikh kirpan (symbolic miniature sword)); observing a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments (*e.g.*, a Muslim, Pentecostal Christian, or Orthodox Jewish woman's practice of wearing modest clothing, and of not wearing pants or short skirts); or adhering to shaving or hair length observances (*e.g.*, Sikh uncut hair and beard, Rastafarian dreadlocks, or Jewish peyes (sidelocks)).

**Title VII prohibits disparate treatment based on religious belief or practice, or lack thereof**. With the exception of employers that are religious organizations as defined under Title VII, an employer must not exclude someone from a job based on discriminatory religious preferences, whether its own or those of customers, clients, or co-workers. Title VII also prohibits discrimination against people because they have no religious beliefs. **Customer preference is not a defense to a claim of discrimination.**
	**Title VII also prohibits workplace or job segregation based on religion (including religious garb and grooming practices), such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or assumed customer preference.**
	**Title VII requires an employer, once on notice that a religious accommodation is needed for sincerely held religious beliefs or practices, to make an exception to dress and grooming requirements or preferences, unless it would pose an undue hardship.**
	Requiring an employee's religious garb, marking, or article of faith to be covered is not a reasonable accommodation if that would violate the employee's religious beliefs.
		An employer may bar an employee's religious dress or grooming practice based on workplace safety, security, or health concerns only if the circumstances actually pose an undue hardship on the operation of the business, and not because the employer simply assumes that the accommodation would pose an undue hardship.
		When an exception is made as a religious accommodation, the employer may still refuse to allow exceptions sought by other employees for secular reasons.
		Neither co-worker disgruntlement nor customer preference constitutes undue hardship.
		**It is advisable in all instances for employers to make a case-by-case determination of any requested religious exceptions, and to train managers accordingly.**
	**Title VII prohibits retaliation by an employer because an individual has engaged in protected activity under the statute, which includes requesting religious accommodation.** Protected activity may also include opposing a practice the employee reasonably believes is made unlawful by one of the employment discrimination statutes, or filing a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the statute.
	**Title VII prohibits workplace harassment based on religion,** which may occur when an employee is required or coerced to abandon, alter, or adopt a religious practice as a condition of employment, or for example, when an employee is subjected to unwelcome remarks or conduct based on religion.

**To locate the EEOC office in your area regarding questions or to file a charge of discrimination** within applicable time deadlines, call toll free 1-800-669-4000 or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY) for more information. Federal sector applicants and employees should contact the EEO office of the agency responsible for the alleged discrimination to initiate EEO counseling. For more details, see "How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination," https://www.eeoc.gov/filing-charge-discrimination.

In addition to Title VII's prohibitions on religious, race, color, national origin, and sex discrimination, the EEOC enforces federal statutes that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, disability, or genetic information of applicants or employees. You may contact the EEOC with questions about effective workplace policies that can help prevent discrimination, or with more specialized questions, by calling 1-800-669-4000 (TTY 1-800-669-6820), or sending written inquiries to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Legal Counsel, 131 M Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20507.Return to top

  EEOC Logo, Image
            U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

          EEOC Headquarters
              131 M Street, NE
Washington, DC 205071-800-669-6820 (TTY)1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone)

        Questions?

Call 1-800-669-4000
For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers:1-800-669-6820 (TTY)1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone)info@eeoc.govFind your nearest EEOC officeFrequently Asked Questions
          Connect With Us

  FOIA
      
    
                      Privacy Policy
      
    
                      Disclaimer
      
    
                      Accessibility
      
    
                      Office of Inspector General
      
    
                      Promoting Access to Voting
      
    
                      USA.gov