State and federal laws exist to protect employees from workplace discrimination. Forms of workplace discrimination can include being discriminated against or harassed based on one’s race, age, sex, sexual orientation and religion. While cases of religious discrimination related to an employee’s clothing or beliefs are more common, those that relate to an employee’s refusal to practice or engage in certain religious activities and behaviors while at work are far less common.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed a lawsuit against a company based on allegations the company forced employees to abide by doctrines associated with a belief system known as “Harnessing Happiness”. More commonly referred to as “Onionhead”, individuals who identify as Onionheads routinely engage in religious-like practices including “praying, reading spiritual texts and discussing personal matters with colleagues and management.”
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, in 2012, nearly 2 million U.S. dads were staying home to raise children. Twenty-five years ago, a reported 1.1 million fathers reported to being stay-at-home dads. The recent economic troubles of the mid-2000s is a major contributing factor to the increase in the number of stay-at-home dads as many men lost their jobs and remained home to raise children. The fact that more women are working today, many who out-earn their spouses or partners, is also contributing to the increased number of fathers staying home to raise children.
In cases where both a father and mother work and equally split child-rearing duties, more fathers request joint child custody agreements. Driven by a desire to continue to play an active role and preserve a sense of normalcy in their children’s lives, fathers who request joint custody must work hard to effectively co-parent with an ex-spouse or partner.
Influenced by a number of factors, the fathers of today are very different from those of 25 or 50 years ago. A large percentage of today’s dads come from divorced homes where time with their own fathers was limited. Consequently, many have vowed to be more involved in raising their own children and won’t allow the end of a marriage or relationship to negatively influence relationships with their kids.
Source: New York Daily News, “Long Island business forced workers into Onionhead ‘religion,’ lawsuit claims,” John Marzulli, June 11, 2014