Employers and Religious Holidays

December 17, 2001

Source: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

On December 17, 2001, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that "almost all companies count Christian celebrations as their only official religious holidays, with employees of other faiths often forced to work on their holy days or use vacation time for a holiday off... Still, a growing number offer floating holidays or other schedule adjustments that allow workers to stay home on the days that matter to them... A survey this year by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding found that 98 percent of companies officially recognize only Christian holidays."