One of those places where religious freedom gets a little sticky is in how much an employer should be required to accommodate the religious practices of employees. What about religious dress, asking someone to provide a service they consider unethical, or granting time off for scheduled prayers or holy days? Those issues are being addressed as Congress considers the Workplace Religious Freedom Act once again. The debate ultimately comes down to what is “reasonable” accommodation. My childhood friend Steve was a Seventh-Day Adventist. When we went to work together in high school, washing dishes at the Days Inn restaurant, the accommodation was handled well. He washed on Sundays and I washed on Saturdays (his Sabbath). But the growing religious pluralism makes workplace accommodation more challenging. Aside from genuine concerns, some people could come up with all kinds of religious prohibitions to get out of work or certain kinds of work. In fact, I remember another friend who was eager to miss our kitchen duty to go camping. As he stewed over his appeal to our boss, he wondered aloud: “Have I already used the dead grandmother story twice?”
