Should a religious employer be exempt from anti-discrimination laws?

First off, I am not talking about a church or other religious organizations. I am talking about simply an employer who holds religious beliefs.

Should a employer be allowed to violate discrimination law, such as firing someone for being gay, if they find it morally wrong?

 

Individuals should be free to discriminate any way they chose to do so, it's called freedom of association. If they don't want a gay person working for them nobody should have the right to force them to accommodate him. It's called being free, free to make ones own choices in life.

 

Spo you beleive that I should have the right to fire people for belonging to an organized religion, since I don't believe in them?

 

Yes. I think you would be a moron to do so but it's your business to do with as you will.

 

You should be allowed to refuse to hire someone based on something like sexual orientation, but if you find out afterwards that your new employee is gay, I don't care about your beliefs, you cannot fire them. If you do, I hope the employee sues the crap out of you.

 

I think that everyone except for the government should be exempt from anti-discrimination laws, so yes.

 

So a mulsim employer could refuse to employ christians.

 

Then also I should be able to refuse to hire someone based on she's a woman. Why not? Or refusing to hire blacks, or Asiatic, or whatever.

Let's end with anti-discrimination laws.

 

Wouldn't it be better to end discrimination?

 

My comment was sarcsatic, didn't I?

 

Employment is a contract between the employer and the employee and must be addressed as such. Matters unrelated to the contract, such as a person's private life, have no bearing on the contract and cannot be used as grounds for breaking the contract.

A person can expend a considerable amount of money in accepting employment and they do so in good faith. For an employer to break that employment based upon anything unrelated to the employment contract would and should make the employer liable for damages.

 

My position is that a person's personal belief's are just that...personal. I expect them to be kept personal. I hired gays with the understanding that the professional life and their political activity as a gay person would be seperate. Welcome to march in the Gay Pride Parade but not in our uniform or patrol car. My son got a job at a retail outlet and the boss had a prayer meeting every morning. My son asked me what he should do and I said, "Go to the prayer meeting or don't go to the prayer meeting and look for another job." He chose the second alternative.

As an atheist, I faced more discrimination than did religious people. Get over it.

 

Sorry Kilgram, I find it hard to distinguish sarcasm of US righties here and I didn't spot it was your post

 

I think it is stupid to discriminate , you lose out on some of the best and brightest, I remember a guy in the Army who taught me so much he was smart as hell and he was Black so don't go judging the book by its cover , another example is kids with earrings and Tats , one supervisor who works for me is covered , he is one of our best !

 

"Could"?? No, they can't under current law. However, they should be able to refuse to hire anybody for any reason. Either they own their business or they don't.

 

what about freedom against men? or women?

I always believe, the best person for the job. Nothing else should matter.

 

Employers do have freedom of association. They can choose who they hire and who they don't. Once you're hired, the rules change.

 

Invidious discrimination that denies equality of opportunity to an individual is a violation of the individual's inalienable Rights. The employer has no rational reason for violating the individual's Right of Privacy in asking about their religion, ethnic background, or discrimination based upon race. Only the individual's personal attributes, knowledge and experience that are related to the employment are grounds for determining whether a person should be selected over other possible candidates.

As expressed in the Declaration of Independence the role of government is to protect the inalienable Rights of the People and it is justifiable in protecting those Rights by outlawing invidious discrimination which is unrelated to the actual employment position and that infringes upon the Right of Privacy of the Individual.

 

I don't know if I agree with this. Suppose your company has an anti-drug policy and you hire somebody without knowing that they do drugs and later catch them getting high somewhere. I would think you'd still have solid grounds to fire them. Perhaps your company could adopt a no homo policy and inform every new employee of this. That way it gives the employee the chance to fess up or opt out at the beginning. And if they get caught later, then they've been busted for lying to their employer.

 

Sorry, that doesn't wash.

If the law allows someone to discriminate based on sexual preference in the hiring process, it will either allow them to discriminate in the firing process or risk being overturned.

 

Businesses can hire or fire whomever they wish. Governments don't have as much leeway. That's how it works. Having said that, it makes good economic sense for a business not to discriminate. Not all businesses do what is best for them.

 

What you say is certainly common sensical and would be good advice to any business. Nevertheless, it doesn't work that way legally.

 

Two questions here:
1) Should there be anti-discrimination laws? I would answer yes but that isn't the point of the thread.
2) Should religious employers (or what have you) be exempt from any law on the basis of their religion?
The answer to this must be no.

 

Yes, as the 1st trumps equal opportunity law.

 

No.

They would be better to spend their time wondering what the hell someone's private life has to do with them.

They would do better not to judge people, and employ on the basis of ability.

Does that answer your question?