You’re a tolerant, open-minded person. You’ve hired people of all races and religions, including a woman who wears a head scarf (hijab) in accordance with her religion. But what do say when that woman seeks a promotion to a more visible position? A few unwise words coupled with foot-dragging on the promotion and you’ll be wrapping your head around a religious discrimination lawsuit …

Case in Point: Angela Harper was a 20-year-old African American Muslim who wore a hijab for modesty in respect of her religion. An Ellensburg, Washington, restaurant hired her for a dishwasher job. Eventually, she asked a restaurant manager to be promoted to waitress. She was permitted to work only the less lucrative shifts of breakfast and lunch.

Harper asked to work the better dinner and cocktail shifts but was told no openings were available. However, over the next two years, the restaurant hired eight white employees as cocktail and dinner waitresses. Harper was eventually allowed to cover the dinner shifts for other employees as needed, but wasn’t give a full-time dinner shift.

The restaurant owner tried to justify her decision and insisted she was “not a bigot.” The owner told Harper, “it wasn’t about your race, it was more about your scarf thing. You know how people in Ellensburg are? They’re not gonna want to see, you know, a girl like that on the cocktail shift … It was a business decision, it was nothing against you.”

Eventually, the owner offered Harper a cocktail server position but the employee felt the offer was insincere and quit. She filed an EEOC claim for religious discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on protected characteristics, including religion. (EEOC v. Starlight LLC, 8/04/08)

What happened next … and what lessons can be learned?