
Sadly, workplace discrimination has the potential to occur in any industry. This includes the health care industry. A survey indicates that one type of such discrimination that might be a particularly big problem in the health care industry in North America is religious discrimination against Muslim doctors.
The survey’s respondents were physicians who were members of the Islamic Medical Association of North America. Nearly a quarter of the respondents said that they had been discriminated against in the workplace at some point in their career. Furthermore, around one out of every seven of the survey respondents reported that discrimination in the workplace is something they are currently experiencing.
Why do you think reports of this type of discrimination are so high among Muslim doctors? Do you think Muslim workers in other health care professions, like nursing, are experiencing similarly high occurrence levels of workplace discrimination? What would you like to see the health care industry do to combat workplace religious discrimination?
It is important for Texas workers of any faith who are experiencing religious discrimination at work to know that they have rights. Workplace religious discrimination is prohibited by both state and federal law. Workers who have been subjected by their employer to conduct that violates state or federal laws banning such discrimination generally have legal remedies they can pursue. Employment law attorneys can provide guidance to employees who are wondering if conduct they were subjected to at work constituted illegal religious discrimination and if there are legal actions they can take to respond to the conduct.
Source: Healthcare Finance, “Many Muslim physicians see discrimination at work, survey finds,” Beth Jones Sanborn, Dec. 15, 2015