WCM recognizes and respects the religious diversity of its employees. WCM prohibits discrimination based on an employee’s religion or creed and will provide reasonable accommodations for employees to enable them to exercise their sincerely held religious beliefs. More specifically, federal, state and local laws require that WCM reasonably accommodate an employee whose sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance conflicts with a work requirement unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on WCM operations.
The Office of Institutional Equity (“OIE”) is responsible for overseeing and coordinating requests for accommodation received from employees based on religion. As an initial step, an employee should inform an OIE investigator of the need for a reasonable accommodation based on religion. An employee, a family member, or someone else designated by an employee may also notify WCM on the employee’s behalf of their need for a reasonable accommodation.
Process
WCM has established the following procedure for employees to request a religious accommodation:
Responsibility of Employee
An employee must submit a written request for accommodation to the Office of Institutional Equity using the form below. The request should outline:
- The religion and/or religious practice the employee observes
- The specific accommodation the employee is requesting
After submission of the request, a member of the Office of Institutional Equity will contact the employee to discuss the accommodation request. The employee may be asked to provide additional documentation in support of the proposed accommodation request.
The Office of Institutional Equity, in consultation with the department, will evaluate the employee's accommodation request and all other reasonable alternative measures available. WCM will endeavor to adopt an accommodation plan that is reasonable, addresses the employee's needs, and does not create an undue hardship on WCM operations.
Responsibility of Supervisors, Department Administrators, Department Chairs/Heads and Faculty Members
Any request for a religious accommodation should be immediately referred to the Office of Institutional Equity at equity@med.cornell.edu. The Office of Institutional Equity will consult with department management on any request for religious accommodation.
Religious Accommodation Request Form
If you are unable to see the form below, please follow this link to complete the form online.