Dear Annoyed:

This is a touchy one. The first thing you might do is to see what other employees think about the situation. If others feel the same way, you could have more impact if you went to the management and told them your concerns.

You could also broach the subject alone with this person. If you go that route, do it in a private conversation and look for the right moment. Gently but firmly tell him that you feel uncomfortable with his behavior and that you need to have an agreement on when--if ever--it's appropriate to discuss religion.

You are within your rights to set boundaries with this man, says employment attorney Dave Torchia of Torchia, Kraus & Torchia. But if you complain to management and they support him, subtle retaliation might begin. So first, you need to decide how much you like your job and what you're willing to tolerate.

Also, if you work for a public employer (such as a government agency) you have rights under the U.S. Constitution that someone in a private company would not, according to Torchia.

Let's assume you work for a private company. If you decide you're not that crazy about the place, you complain and you don't care what happens, or you just can't tolerate the situation and must speak up, here's what might happen.

The management could start pointing out that you're coming in late and your work performance is suffering. They may create a case that you don't fit into their culture. They could find a way to get you to quit or terminate you.

If you go to a lawyer, your complaint would be treated as a sexual harassment case or any kind of harassment case, says Torchia. You would have to show that the religious communications unreasonably interfered with your work performance or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Before you got hired, the company had no business bringing up religion. Now that you're there, they shouldn't be bringing it up either.

© by Andrea Kay

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