Religious Accommodations

Faculty and Staff

As a public institution and federal contractor, the law requires UTHSC to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the operations of the employing department. This means UTHSC may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow an employee to practice his or her religion. This also applies to such things as dress or grooming practices that an employee has for religious reasons. It also includes an employee's observance of a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments.

Reasonable accommodation examples for employees might include granting individual leave for religious observances, providing a time and place to pray, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, wearing particular head coverings or other religious dress, or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair.  Reasonable accommodations are necessarily determined on an individual basis and depend on the particular circumstances.

The Office of Access and Compliance (OAC) can provide guidance and direction for a religious accommodation request. Please contact OAC at 901.448.2112 or oac-hsc@uthsc.edu for assistance.

Students

UTHSC Student Policy SA107  acknowledges the diversity of its students and respects the rights of students to observe their religious beliefs and practices.

Students who wish to request academic accommodation for a religious observance should complete and download the accessible form and submit the completed form within 30 days or as defined by the college to the Assistant/Associate Dean of Student/Academic Affairs. If you have questions or concerns about your request, you can contact the Office of Access and Compliance (OAC) at oac-hsc@uthsc.edu or 901.448.2112.  Accommodations do not relieve you of the responsibility for completion of any part of the coursework/clinical rotation you miss as the result of a religious observance.