| Policy Title | Religious Accommodations Policy |
| Type or category of Policy: | Administrative |
| Approval Authority: | President |
| Responsible Executive: | Vice President for Finance and Administration. |
| Responsible Office: | Office of Human Resources |
| Owner Contact: | Office of Human Resources, Trustco Bank Center Room 120, humanresoures@siena.edu, 518-783-2420 |
| Reviewed By: | President |
| Reviewed Date: | June 15, 2021 |
| Last Revised and Effective Date of Revision: | August 19, 2021 |
Reason for Policy
Siena College complies with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and all applicable local fair employment practices laws, and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of their religious beliefs and practices or lack thereof. This policy serves to demonstrate the College’s commitment to provide a reasonable accommodation of an individual’s sincerely held religious belief, and to inform them of the process for requesting a religious accommodation.
Scope of the Policy
All employees (faculty, administrators, staff and student employees), applicants for employment, volunteers, independent contractors and employees of temporary service agencies are covered by this policy.
The Official Policy
Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunities
Siena College complies with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and all applicable local fair employment practices laws, and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of their religious beliefs and practices or lack thereof. Consistent with this commitment, Siena College will provide a reasonable accommodation of an individual’s sincerely held religious belief if the accommodation would resolve a conflict between the individual’s religious beliefs or practices and a work requirement, unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the College.
Requesting a Religious Accommodation
If you believe you need an accommodation because of your religious beliefs or practices or lack thereof, you should request an accommodation from the Human Resources Office. You may make the request orally or in writing. Siena College encourages individuals to make their request in writing on Siena College’s Religious Accommodation Request Form and to include relevant information, such as:
- A description of the accommodation you are requesting.
- The reason you need an accommodation.
- How the accommodation will help resolve the conflict between your religious beliefs or practices or lack thereof and one or more of your work requirements.
After receiving your oral or written request, Siena College will engage in a dialogue with you to explore potential accommodations that could resolve the conflict between your religious beliefs and practices and one or more of your work requirements. The College encourages you to suggest specific reasonable accommodations that you believe would resolve any such conflict. However, the College is not required to make the specific accommodation requested by you and may provide an alternative, effective accommodation, to the extent any accommodation can be made without imposing an undue hardship on the College.
Supporting Information
The College may ask you to provide additional information about your religious practices or beliefs and the accommodation requested. If you fail to provide the requested information, your request for an accommodation may be denied.
Determinations
The College makes determinations about religious accommodations on a case-by-case basis considering various factors and based on an individualized assessment in each situation. The College strives to make determinations on religious accommodation requests expeditiously, and will inform the individual once a determination has been made. If you have any questions about an accommodation request you made, please contact the Human Resources Office.
No Retaliation
Individuals will not be retaliated against for requesting an accommodation in good faith. Siena College expressly prohibits any form of discipline, reprisal, intimidation, or retaliation against any individual for requesting an accommodation in good faith.
The College is committed to enforcing this policy and prohibiting retaliation against individuals who request an accommodation in good faith. However, the effectiveness of our efforts depends largely on individuals telling us about inappropriate workplace conduct. If individuals feel that they or someone else may have been subjected to conduct that violates this policy, they should report it immediately to the Title IX/Equal Opportunity Specialist. If individuals do not report retaliatory conduct, the College may not become aware of a possible violation of this policy and may not be able to take appropriate corrective action.
Administration of this Policy
The Human Resources Office is responsible for the administration of this policy. If you have any questions regarding this policy or questions about religious accommodations that are not addressed in this policy, please contact the Human Resources Office.