reply to this students post:

$1.$Were you aware of these issues? How have things changed $($or stayed the same$)$ since $9/11?$

While reading chapter twelve I found myself becoming more aware of the many forms of discrimination there are towards all different types of religious groups. Before reading the chapter I was aware of the discrimination a lot of Arab and Muslim people face in the workforce. I was however unaware of the scale of the issue at hand, the book stated a quote on the number of claims filed through the EEOC and I was completely unaware of how many Arabs and Muslims were affected. The book stated $$In the two decades following $9/11/2001,$ the EEOC received between $2,100$ and $4,100$ claims alleging religious discrimination$($Bell & Leopold $2022).$ I knew that some employers would stereotype and even hold stigmas towards Arab and Muslim applicants and employees but here that that number was upwards of $4,000$ shocked me$.$ I also think it is important that the chapter emphasizes that religious fundamentalism, rather than religiosity itself, is associated with hostility toward sexual minorities. This quote in the book stood out to me$,$ Along with religious fundamentalism predicting some hostile behaviors toward sexual minorities, researchers have found strong correlations between religious fundamentalism and hostility toward sexual minorities, Jews, and Muslims $($for Christians$)$ and the West $($for Muslims$)($Bell & Leopold $2022).$ I felt this was important because it showed how a lot of the hostile behavior does not come from the religiosity of one, but rather the religious fundamentalism of them.

$2.$Chapter $13$ presents EEOC cases of egregious discrimination against older workers, which are often based on assumptions about their $($in$)$competence$,$ and of sexual harassment against younger workers. Are you familiar with any cases, or potential cases of age discrimination? If so$,$ please discuss or comment on one of the cases described in the chapter.

I had never heard of the term egregious discrimination before reading chapter $13$ I felt I gained a better understanding of the overall term. Because I had never heard of it I was unfamiliar with any cases involving age discrimination, but after reading some of the ones in the book one caught my eye. The one that stood out to me was the one about the $51-$year$-$old African American hairstylist. The Chapter said, $$ In a three$-$month period, three employees resigned from the salon manager position and in filling the salon manager position all three times, the salon selected a succession of three White employees from other salons whose ages ranged from late teens to early twenties even though the Black stylist was more than qualified to fill the position$($Bell & Leopold$).$ This was such a disheartening thing for me to hear because I have seen plenty of successful hairstylists around that age, and for this lady to get discriminated in this way is wrong in many ways.

$3.$ Read the Supreme Court Ruling from Spring $2023$ regarding employee$/$employer rights regarding working on Sunday related to religious freedom. What did the court rule around requiring employees to work on Sunday if it$$s against their religious beliefs?

The justices clarified a law that made it illegal for employers to discriminate based on religion, requiring that they accommodate the religious beliefs of workers as long as the accommodation does not impose an "undue hardship on the employer's business." The court had previously defined the statutory term "undue hardship" by saying that employers should not have to bear more than what the court called a $"$de minimis," or trifling, cost.

$4.$ Do you support the court ruling or disagree with it; Why?

Yes, I feel companies should stay out of religion as a whole because I feel not everyone is fully educated to make decisions for others involving religious practices. Religions have various levels of practice and some religions practice their religion more than others, and I think organizations should not have the power to tell someone how they can practice something that is apart of their daily lives especially if it does not effect the organization.