Leaves of Absence As Religious Accommodation

We previously wrote about the EEOC's increasingly aggressive position against inflexible leave of absence policies that provide for automatic termination of employment when an employee does not or cannot return to work at the end of a specified maximum leave period, such as when the employee has exhausted available FMLA leave.  We have also written about the public hearing held by the EEOC in June 2011, which discussed the use of extended leaves of absence as reasonable accommodation for a disability covered under the expansive Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act.  A new development suggests that employers may also need to consider the use of extended leaves of absence as accommodation for employees' religious beliefs.