Abstract
This program will examine the value of basic religious literacy in the legal profession. Specifically, it will: a) review select portions of The United States Civil Rights Act and Minnesota Human Rights Act as applied to religiously based accommodation in the workplace; and b) examine recent case studies in which religion and belief in the workplace led to compromise and conflict. Objectives include 1) understanding the U.S. Civil Rights Act and Minnesota Human Rights Act in the context of religion in the workplace, and 2) exploring whether greater religious literacy on behalf of employer, service provider, and/or legal counsel might have resulted in solutions that would have either saved time and money or avoided litigation in these cases. The session will include short presentations followed by case-study discussions.
Presenters
- John Del Vecchio, J.D., Attorney at Law | Faculty, Business Law, Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas
- Maher Mahmood, J.D., Litigation Attorney, Best & Flanagan | Speaker, Islamic Resource Group of Minnesota
- Marguerite Spencer, J.D., Senior Adjunct Professor of Theology with concentrations in the Legal Profession, Public Discourse, and the First Amendment
Facilitator
- Hans Gustafson, Ph.D., Director, Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, University of St. Thomas | Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences
This program is sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning (College of Arts and Sciences) and the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas in collaboration with the Islamic Resource Group of Minnesota.