New York City Council Strengthens Law's Requirement To Accommodate Religious Observance

The Empire reports that yesterday New York City Council passed an amendment (full text) to the city's Human Rights Law making it more difficult for both private and governmental employers to refuse to accommodate employees' religious practices.  The amendment was particularly an effort to address problems that the large Sikh community in Queens has faced in seeking to wear turbans while employed by the New York Police Department. The amendment requires the employer to show significant expense or difficulty would be involved in accommodating an employee before denying an accommodation request.