[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9710-S9711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 3628. A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to 
establish provisions with respect to religious accommodations in 
employment, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I introduced a piece of legislation 
that

[[Page S9711]]

working on for over 10 years, the Workplace Religious Freedom Act.
  Religious pluralism is a source of strength for this country. It 
always has been. That is why I support the Workplace Religious Freedom 
Act or WRFA, as I have ever since I first introduced it back in 1996.
  My personal involvement with this issue goes back to two Catholic 
women working at a dog-racing track in Raynham, Massachusetts. They 
were fired from their jobs because they refused to work on Christmas 
Eve. They felt it was against their religion to do business that night. 
We need to pass WRFA to make it clear that here in America, living out 
your faith is not a reason to lose your job.
  The bill is designed to protect people just like those two women: 
workers suffering from on-the-job discrimination because of their 
religious beliefs and practices. It requires employers to make a 
reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious practice or 
observance, such as time off or dress. It protects, within reason, time 
off for religious observances. And it protects Yarmulkes, Hijabs, 
Turbans, Mormon garments--all the distinctive marks of our religious 
practices. All the things that everyone should be proud of and nobody 
should ever be forced to hide.
  All of us should have the freedom to abide by and to express our 
religious beliefs--they are crucial to our individual and communal 
identities, and collectively, they are a crucial part of our national 
identity as a diverse and tolerant country.
  Writing religious freedom into law is by necessity a balancing act 
between universal values--such as religious tolerance and equal 
treatment--with the particulars that each of our faiths demand of us. 
Just as religious scholars wonder whether God can create an 
indestructible rock and then destroy it, scholars of religious 
pluralism have to answer a similar riddle: does a pluralism that's 
based on tolerance, tolerate intolerance?
  Squaring this circle will always be a balancing act. Religious 
freedom in America doesn't mean the absolute right to impose your 
religion on others. With WRFA we have achieved that balance by 
protecting not only religious practices in the workplace but also by 
protecting those that don't share the same faith or choose not to 
practice at work.
  I find that if you look at the vast, vast majority of actual cases, 
protecting religious freedom turns out to be a matter of common sense.
  Consider the case of Jack Rosenberg, a 35-year-old Hasidic Jew from 
Rockland County, New York. Jack signed up for the Coast Guard and 
passed his training, only to .discover that he wasn't allowed to wear 
his yarmulke. ``As soon as I got sworn in and got ready to put on the 
uniform,'' Mr. Rosenberg said, ``the commander came to me and said it's 
going to be a problem.'' As Mr. Rosenberg said, ``If my religion 
requires it, ``there's not a choice.'' I agree: No American should 
raise his or religion with an employer and be told: ``it's going to be 
a problem.'' I am proud to say that the Coast Guard changed their 
regulations to allow for religious headgear. We fought for Jack 
Rosenberg and we won.
  Another case involves a server at a Red Robin restaurant who belongs 
to the ancient Egyptian Kemetic religion, which doesn't allow him to 
hide his religious tattoos. Red Robin fired him for a wrist tattoo less 
than a quarter-inch wide. In the end, he won in court and Red Robin 
agreed to train managers to better understand religious discrimination.
  This isn't about litigation. It is about protecting the right of free 
expression and ensuring that religious people feel comfortable in the 
workplace. We must never leave anyone with the idea that practicing 
one's religion and being American are in conflict. That is fundamental 
to how we live as Americans, and I will fight to make sure that our 
laws governing religious freedom are worthy of our values.
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