Muslim employee refuses to take orders from female boss - can we fire him? 02-07-2007

Can a Muslim employee refuse a direct order from female boss because his religious beliefs restrict him from taking orders from a female?

Rita Risser replies:

To my knowledge, this has not been answered by the courts. I'm not sure what a court would rule. On the one hand, the religious beliefs and practices of employees must be reasonably accommodated. However, this does not apply to religious preferences. We have found no evidence that Islam generally prohibits men from taking orders from female bosses, and indeed in Muslim countries throughout the Middle East women are in management positions over men, not to mention the thousands of Muslim men in American companies reporting to female bosses. So if the employee is merely stating his preference based on his interpretation of Muslim beliefs, legally it does not have to be accommodated. But if a particular sect of Islam has such a requirement, then his beliefs must be accommodated. On the other hand, if the accommodation results in discrimination against women, another protected classification, then should it be allowed? The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held in a case against Hewlett Packard that when religious beliefs of one employee conflict with the rights of employees in other protected classifications, the company could not accommodate the religion.

To begin to answer your question, if the employee works in an area where it would be possible to transfer him to a male boss, and it is required by his religion, the transfer probably would be required by law. If it is not required by his religion, but it is still possible to transfer him to a male boss, from a values perspective, it is advisable to make the transfer. But if the only accommodation available would be to move the woman manager, I think that would be illegal. If the employer cannot make a reasonable accommodation, and the employee refuses to take orders, the employee probably could be let go, but you must have a local attorney involved at the very beginning of the process to ensure it is handled legally. In other words, don't take any action based on this answer. Hire a local attorney!

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.