By: Scott D. Wilson
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace is creating a novel and increasingly complex legal issue for employers: how to address employees’ requests for religious accommodation that seek exemptions from using AI-enabled technologies. Labor attorneys and legal scholars caution that such requests must be taken seriously, particularly in light of recent legal developments that strengthen employee protections under federal law, including the US Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy. After Groff, employers must now demonstrate that granting an accommodation would impose a “substantial increased cost” on the business.
The issue is complicated further by the speed at which AI capabilities are evolving. Experts note that tasks and uses that seem peripheral or speculative today may become central to core job functions within months. Estimates suggest that more than half of US jobs will be reshaped by AI in the next few years, meaning employees may retain the same titles but face fundamentally new methods of producing work.
Faith institutions and leaders are beginning to issue guidance on AI that emphasizes moral responsibility, human dignity, and the ethical limits of technology, and these statements may inform future accommodation claims. However, courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interpret “religion” broadly, covering sincerely held beliefs that give meaning to an individual’s life, even if those beliefs are novel, personal, unique to one person, even to atheists.
A recent notable case involved a biometric hand scanner used for timekeeping, in which an employee objected on religious grounds and a jury ultimately found religious discrimination. Legal experts emphasize that employers should not evaluate the plausibility or theological soundness of an employee’s beliefs but should instead focus on whether the belief is sincerely held and whether accommodating it would impose an undue hardship.
Whether an AI-related accommodation is reasonable will depend heavily on the employee’s role and the extent to which AI is integral to job performance. While many accommodations may be feasible in the near term, the growing centrality of AI to certain industries may eventually make exemptions more difficult to justify. Consequently, religious accommodation in the age of AI is likely to remain a dynamic and contested area of employment law.
BSW Labor and Employment Law Blog 