Encountering Religion in the Workplace

Legal cases that cast light on the ramifications of mixing religion and work.

Raymond F. Gregory is the author of Unwelcome and Unlawful: Sexual Harassment in the American Workplace, also from Cornell, Norman Thomas: The Great Dissenter, Women and Workplace Discrimination, and Age Discrimination in the American Workplace.

This book has been written for the laypersons and those lawyers who do not specialize in employment law. Every attempt has been made to eliminate technical language and legal jargon and to preclude immersion in legal intricacies and technical data having less than general application.... The broad picture takes precedence over special circumstances that may be relevant only in a limited number of instances. The right to practice one's religion in the work area comes with limitations. That is the primary subject matter of this book—limitations. Under what circumstances is a worker limited in practicing his or her religious beliefs in the workplace?

Dylan Weller:

A well-rounded and engaging synopsis of religious discrimination law..., providing both a readable overview, as well as a unique firsthand perspective from a lawyer with decades of experience in the field.... The heart of the book resides in the many case summaries used throughout the text. They are clear, concise, and often compellingly written.

Lucy Vickers, Oxford Brookes University, author of Religious Freedom, Religious Discrimination and the Workplace:

This book offers an excellent and engaging account of the complex and increasingly important issue of religion and the workplace. It will be of great interest to employment lawyers as well as to those concerned with religious rights.

Risa L. Lieberwitz, Cornell University:

Encountering Religion in the Workplace is an important book for students of labor and employment law, professors, attorneys, and anyone interested in the role of religion in a secular society at a time when discussions of religion are so pervasive. The scope of issues of religion in the workplace is broad and the content complex; Raymond F. Gregory covers these areas in depth without sacrificing clarity. This is true for more straightforward issues as well as areas where legal issues are in tension. Gregory shows the contradictions that exist in balancing the free exercise of religion with rights to be free from religious proselytizing or from governmental establishment of religion.