Colorado is in the Top Ten for religious discrimination
(COLORADO) — A new study reveals that Colorado is in the top ten for religious discrimination. Employment law experts at Duddy, Goodwin & Pollard (DGP) examined data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission showing which of the fifty states have the most religious discrimination charges on record between 2009 and 2022.
Maine came in first, with data showing that 15.45% of discrimination charges were religious. followed by Massachusetts (14.62%), Rhode Island (12.55%), Washington (11.32%), Oregon (10.22%), Idaho (9.80%), Hawaii (9.54%), Utah (8.44%), Minnesota (8.05%), and finally Colorado came in tenth at 7.82%. The state with the least number of religious discrimination charges is Mississippi. Out of 22,815 discrimination charges, only 592 (2.59%) were religious.
“Religious discrimination involves treating a person unfavorably because of their religious beliefs,” explained Jamie Goodwin, an attorney from DGP. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism and Christianity, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. This type of discrimination can also involve treating someone differently because they associate with an individual of a particular religion. It may also be harassment, segregation, or refusal to reasonably accommodate.”
Religious discrimination is only one of many forms of unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment, and discrimination based on race, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, status as a parent, national origin, pregnancy, and reprisal/retaliation (bias based on complaints).
“Any form of discrimination,” Goodwin said, “can cause a variety of problems for victims, including emotional and psychological trauma.”
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