Religious Right: An Employers Concern As Y2K & Year 2000 Nears

I find this one of the most unusual perspectives on Y2K and the religious right, left or center that Ive read so far.

Diane

Published Tuesday, March 9, 1999, in the San Jose Mercury News

Religious rights a factor as year 2000 nears

BY JESSICA GUYNN Contra Costa Times

http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/getahead/docs/millfever09.htm

Technological Armageddon triggered by the millennium computer bug would be ominous enough for business. But what if one of your employees or co-workers becomes convinced he's the Messiah?

Not only could it happen, it already has.

``Millennium fever'' has gripped some workers, raising eyebrows and concern in the workplace.

California is home to practitioners of every mainstream and alternative religion as well as to people who place their faith in hundreds of cults, covens and clubs. Quite a few believe in the Christian millennium prophecy. Some end-timers are fervent in their apocalyptic beliefs.

Though it's unlikely to become a widespread phenomenon, some employment lawyers warn that outbreaks of ``millennium fever'' may become more frequent as the end of the century draws near.

Those outbreaks are sure to raise thorny legal issues. Jeff Tanenbaum, a San Francisco lawyer, already has received several inquiries from Bay Area companies. In all, Tanenbaum says he has fielded nearly a dozen calls from human resources professionals and corporate managers grappling with the religious beliefs and practices of millenarians in the workplace.

In one instance, a worker who thought he was the Messiah would lie on the floor and pretend he was nailed to the cross, frightening co-workers and customers.

At two other companies, employees talked about the coming apocalypse in the workplace, the exhortations alarming their co-workers.

Some of the other Y2K scenarios Tanenbaum says employers should be prepared for:

 A group of employees request time off to attend a millennium festival;

 A worker's manner of dress or appearance changes dramatically for the millennium;

 An employee requests a leave of absence to travel to the Middle East for the millennium;

 A supervisor, a practicing millenarian, is accused of conducting employee reviews that include biblical prophecy;

 An employee belongs to a millennium group that calls for violence.

Are these workers and their beliefs and practices protected by state and federal laws prohibiting religious discrimination in the workplace?

In most cases, the answer is yes, Tanenbaum says.

The federal Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission defines religious practices to include ``moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.''

Those beliefs do not have to be espoused by a religious group or be widely held by others to be protected, Tanenbaum said.

Under federal and state law, employers must make reasonable accommodation for religious practices. Protected practices include observance of a religious holiday, prayer breaks during work hours, dietary restrictions and unusual dress or other personal grooming habits.

``Employers do need to make reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case basis,'' agreed Tom Makris, a San Francisco employment lawyer.

But if an employee wants to take time off to attend a millennium festival or party for personal, not religious reasons, the employer has no such obligation, Tanenbaum said.

The trick is to determine that the belief is genuinely religious in nature, said San Francisco employment lawyer Rebecca Eisen. ``If the employee believes in the millennium as the second coming and holds that belief the way someone else may believe that Jesus is the son of God and in the second coming of Christ, then it's a religious belief under the law,'' Eisen said. ``The safest thing for an employer to do is to provide accommodation without creating a `me-too' syndrome in the office.''

If an employer investigates a worker's religious beliefs, Tanenbaum advises caution.

``Employers must tread carefully in making the determination'' of whether an employee is requesting time off for religious reasons or not, Tanenbaum said. ``Close scrutiny of the employee's request may itself be viewed as discriminatory or harassing conduct and may also be an invasion of privacy.''

And that leaves employers very little wiggle room, Tanenbaum said.

``If an employee requests a leave of absence to attend `the mother of all millennium parties,' a prudent employer will want to know whether the employee means `Mother' with a capital `M,''' Tanenbaum said. ``If so, (the employer should find out) whether the employee has a religious belief in `the Mother' as in earth or otherwise, and whether the employee feels compelled by this belief to attend or simply wishes to do so out of personal preference.''

Tanenbaum said company managers can refuse a worker's request for time off from work if it results in ``undue hardship'' such as violating a collective bargaining agreement, forcing other employees to work undesirable shifts or coming at a substantial cost to the employer.

In other cases, employers can refuse as a matter of company policy. One worker complained of religious discrimination when he couldn't access information about the millennium on the Internet from his work station, but Tanenbaum advised his client that it had a right to use blocking software as protection from potentially offensive material.

Still, other pitfalls lurk. Employers need to be careful that millenarians don't harass other workers by proselytizing about their religious beliefs in the workplace. Such talk also may foreshadow violence, something employers must closely monitor.

And if your employee thinks he's the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?

That's a tough call, Tanenbaum says.

The worker may well be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act for being emotionally or mentally unbalanced, Tanenbaum said. ``But if you treat him under ADA, he could say he is being discriminated against because of his religious beliefs,'' Tanenbaum said. ``It's basically damned if you do and damned if you don't.''

Of course, the employee who claims to be the Messiah may actually be the Messiah, Tanenbaum said with a straight face. ``In that case you don't want to be wrong or you may well really be damned.''

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 11, 1999

Answers

Diane; Thanks for this thought provoking post. In terms of potential behaviours, what should be expected in respect to the fault tolerence and reactions of those who have not made any preparation for self- reliance? Shock? Panic? Fear? Paralysis?

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 11, 1999.

I don't know whether to laugh or to sigh. (sigh) 'Tanenbaum?' Even the name has ironic implications. So THIS is what attorneys do...

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), March 11, 1999.

Oh man, what a weird story.

Unfortunately, most of the general public would lump the folks on this newsgroup (regardless of our real and varied religious persuasions) into the same category as those Calif. "millenarians" (never heard that term before).

As far as I can tell, most of us view y2k as a thoroughly man-made, techological blunder. No supernatural component as far as I can tell (and I'm a Bible-thumper).

Right now, preparing for possible disruptions is equated with being a religious wacko. But I have a feeling it won't be, come this fall.

BTW, ever wonder why it's so hard to run a business these days? Employees who act like *nuts* have all the laws on their side. The employer is screwed.

- Rick B., an American sissy la la - and damned proud of it (that post yesterday from Mikail just cracked me up)

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), March 11, 1999.

Diane, LOL!! Thanks for posting that. Let's just hope these folks remain harmless. Could be an interesting source of entertainment this year as long as they don't pull a Heaven's Gate. I'm reading the article and picturing a corporate workplace filled with guys like Luther(??) on Mork and Mindy . . . ya know, the one dressed in the white robe who thought he was a Messiah-type.

-- David (David@BankPacman.com), March 11, 1999.

This article appears to be more religious-right bashing.

A more likely scenario, to me, is the possibility that small hi-tech startups will suffer a round of armed thefts of PCs and chips from gangs who take advantage of local police's inability to respond due to Y2K disruptions. Add to that, California's draconian "law" practices regarding self-protection. If Y2K is more than a bump in the road, Silicon Valley's hi-tech startups will be a magnet for violent crime, filled with sitting ducks (ouch... mixing metaphors).

-- Ann Y Body (annybody@nowhere.disorg), March 11, 1999.

i don't really think the problems will come from the religious right. i think they will come from people of all faiths and no faith, from people who feel basically alone or paranoid. there will always be paranoid individuals and groups, and if they don't freak out over y2k, they will freak over something else anyway.

good timing on this post, diane! i started re-reading an old book last night which i think is very relevant to y2k, jane roberts' "the individual and the nature of mass events (a seth book)". boy, if y2k isn't a mass event, i don't know what is.

chapter 6 had some interesting comparisons to make between scientific and religious cults, and how cultlike behavior in one would CAUSE corresponding cultlike behavior in the other. you could expand the concept further, and make a case for cultlike behavior in government right now. the implications are fascinating. normally i detest channelled books, but i make an exception for the very sensible seth.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), March 11, 1999.

Diane -

I didn't see the term "Religious Right" anywhere in the body of the article, and it certainly wasn't central to the topic. Where did you find it? I ask because the article was discussing "religious rights", not the so-called "Religious Right". Major difference here.

There will be plenty of folks of all religious persuasions who will be approaching the end of the year with some rather intense emotional and spiritual energies coursing through them. That's interesting, but not exactly front page news.

There will also be lots of folks for whom the next 9 months are not a religious discussion at all, just a matter of how many systems are fixed, how well were they tested, and how much time we have to prep.

This article is a red herring, just like that !@#$%^&* Time article. It does not help anyone be better informed about the real issues of Y2K.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), March 11, 1999.

Guess I'm the only Christian who thinks this is a riot. :-)

-- David (David@BankPacman.com), March 11, 1999.

Mac,

All I did was a simple search on "Y2K" and this popped up. It was in the article "title." ...

Published Tuesday, March 9, 1999, in the San Jose Mercury News

Religious rights a factor as year 2000 nears

BY JESSICA GUYNN Contra Costa Times ...

Y2K is getting more media "spin" than we can shake 10 sticks at!

Yes, it's one heck of a "mass event," jocelyne!!

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 11, 1999.

Ah, I just noticed that byline. It appears that the Contra Costa Times' Jessica Guynn came up with the headline, since it wasn't part of the SJ Mercury story. Interesting, no? Maybe just a typo - left the "s" off the word "right"...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), March 11, 1999.

That's what I was thinking Mac, that is was a typo. The article really doesn't characterize the problem as exclusive of the religious "right". It seems to stick pretty much with the legal issues of religious rights.

-- David (David@BankPacman.com), March 11, 1999.

David and Mac,

What a difference an "s" makes. Sorry. I pulled the whole thing up from the Merc site. (Both Contra Costa and the San Jose Mercury News are Knight Ridder Publications).

The article DOES lump religious wackos in with Y2K however. Which is what I noticed about it. Shades of Time Magazine.

The employer "twist" is a new one to me, however, coupled with the lawyer angle.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 11, 1999.

Oh brother.

"And if your employee thinks he's the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?"

Then your employee needs to be institutionalized. Maybe some meds will help.

Our society is totally going down the toilet.

How screwed up could our laws be?

"In one instance, a worker who thought he was the Messiah would lie on the floor and pretend he was nailed to the cross, frightening co-workers and customers."

So, you call a lawyer?

Yes, let's cover our @#$ instead of getting some help for this individual.

No wonder people lose touch with reality, reality bites.

-- Deborah, who is in a very bad mood today. (info@wars.com), March 11, 1999.

It certainly is an area for concern in my opinion. As some of you may know, I spent quite a few years in fundamentalist circles (until I realized how far out their teachings actually are) so I have a very good understanding of that mindset. I would guesstimate that perhaps 5% or so of the population in USA/Canada believe that TEOTWAWKI will occur as a result of fulfillment of scripture in the next few years. A lot of them feel Y2K is actually part of God's judgement.

These people work in the same companies and offices as you do, and some may do very weird things as they see signs of Y2K disruptions. They may simply not show up for work if they perceive it is all coming to an end, or may show up and disrupt the workplace drastically with their apocalyptic visions.

Sounds weird............

Well yesterday I received an email from someone that I don't even know. It rambled on about how Bill Gates real name is William Gates III and that if you take the ASCII number for each of the letters of his name, is adds up to 666. This then, shows that Bill Gates is likely the Antichrist........it said a lot more than that, but you get the general idea.

I think employers are going to have some difficulty as this year progresses, particularly because they can't easily fire someone lest they be charged with discrimination. Having said that, they're probably a lot better off firing the really weird ones rather than allowing them to stay and cause much trouble.

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), March 11, 1999.

This article is just more left wing liberal media divisive rhetoric disguised as a human interest story. The underlying message is Christians might be dangerous.And especially armed Christians. The Wash. Post ran a story on their front page yesterday about Rev. Sun young Moon's son owning a gun manufacturing company, implying that this was hypocritical. They seem to forget that armed Christians fought and died to give them the right to say that.

-- KoFE (sameplac@same.time), March 11, 1999.

Said the Quaker to the Intruder: "Friend, I would not harm Thee for all the world, but Thou art standing where I intend to shoot."

-- Helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), March 11, 1999.

I'm sorry, but I laughed my ass off when I read this

"In one instance, a worker who thought he was the Messiah would lie on the floor and pretend he was nailed to the cross, frightening co-workers and customers."

This whole thing is truly getting surreal

Pacemakers; microwaves

Koskenin and we're OK

Planes falling from the sky; Chicken Little's gonna die

Elevators hit the ground; everyones a fucking clown

We didn't start the fire
CP

-- CP (Spoonman@prodigy.net), March 11, 1999.

Craig -

"These people work in the same companies and offices as you do, and some may do very weird things as they see signs of Y2K disruptions. They may simply not show up for work if they perceive it is all coming to an end, or may show up and disrupt the workplace drastically with their apocalyptic visions.

Sounds weird............"

Frankly, if I see indications that things are going sideways, I won't be at the cube farm, either. And there are already a few co-workers who are annoyed at my "apocalyptic visions", which are taken from such "weird" sources as the Senate interim report, the writings of the USPS Inspector General, and the prophetic wisdom in the recent Senate testimony of Larry Gershwin and Lou Marcoccio (yeah, even Gartner gets a handclap here!) and whatshername from the State Department. Buncha wackos, all of 'em.

I say again: 'tis a herring, red in hue, and it doth stink! I'm unconcerned with the 5% of the workforce (1 out of every 20) who may think that we are pre-Millennial or post-Millennial or mid-Tribulation or whatever. I'm concerned about 100% of the systems getting fixed and tested and put into production on time. The SJ Mercury, on the other hand, wastes bandwidth on this silliness, rather than devoting itself to true investigative journalism in the heart of Silicon Valley...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), March 11, 1999.

I agree the article wastes bandwidth. However as someone who employees people I have to be concerned. The rules, regulations, etc. make it tough to "fire" the strange ones!! You may ask why they were hired in the first place? Well they seemed "normal" back then!! :)

I guarantee you that in the state of kalifornia if you fire someone you will get sued, been there and it cost me money!! I was right in my decision but the "enlightened protectors of the worker" played their game regardless. So I closed down my division in Kalif. and let everyone go. Enough is enough. So you may laugh at the article but there are folks out there that will work the system for all it's worth. Sad that it effects the few good people who really do want to get ahead and contribute.

I don't care if you think you are god himself, I'm not paying you to harass your fellow employees and in turn not perform the job functions you are being paid for. For those of you who have run or currently run a company you will understand what I'm talking about.

just my hard earned .02 worth

-- Freelancer (mercenary2000@yahoo.com), March 11, 1999.

Well, as an atheist, my perspective is that it is indeed a red herring. I don't see it as being against the Christian Right, middle or left, just religion and cults in general. Dismissing Y2K as a cult, plain and simple.

""And if your employee thinks he's the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?"

Then your employee needs to be institutionalized. Maybe some meds will help."-- Deborah

I could agree with that, but then we'd have to go further and dismiss the whole concept of christianity as wacky, no? How are Christians really supposed to know who Jesus is in his second coming? Look for a glowing halo on his head? Remember, Jesus sounded wacky by most of the jews the first time too.

"One worker complained of religious discrimination when he couldn't access information about the millennium on the Internet from his work station,"

That is an absolutely ridiculous claim. Are employers supposed to let employees read the Bible over the internet at work too? Or listen to live Real Audio broadcast of internet mass on the company's internet? He must have been a desperate "Y2K informed" employee who was hitting a brick wall with management about Y2K compliance, and used this as a desperate last resort when he was shown the door ;-)

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), March 11, 1999.

Chris,

"I could agree with that, but then we'd have to go further and dismiss the whole concept of christianity as wacky, no?"

Chris, this is a good point, I did actually think of that as I was posting, this is one of those, 'did I write that?' posts. I was in a lousy mood. It is true, I know that there are things about my faith that sound strange, even things I don't understand. I wasn't born with faith, but I remember the day I received it. How do you explain 'knowing' somthing you can't really prove, and doesn't always make sense? It's somthing spiritual, you can't see it or touch it, and the Bible says people that are not born spiritually can't know it.(now I sound like the Messiah Complex guy lying on the floor, but the good news is I don't work for you!) How are Cristians really supposed to know who Jesus is in his second coming?

Good question, without giving a long rambling reply with many Bible verses I guess the simplest and most appropriate thing to say would be children know their parents. Look for a glowing halo on his head?

You never know Chris, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. ;-) Bad joke, but it is a good question, I have asked myself what that moment would be like as I'm sure many others have as well.

Remember, Jesus sounded wacky by most of the jews the first time too.

His family thought He was wacky at first, but the religious leaders knew who He was, they were constantly trying to trap Him with His words, He was a threat to their power & station which is why He was killed. His family realized who He was as well. This is a simplistic answer at best.

Just to go officially on record, I don't associate y2k or the millennium with 'the second coming'.

Also to go on record, after 11 years in a non-denominational church, which is fairly conservative, I have never met a person in this sub-culture who 'fits' the media fed 'religious right' image, or 'fundie' stereotype. My experience has been human beings, that want to life their lives, they sound like others on this forum that feel like their rights are slipping away, which is particularly terrifying when your faith is demonized, and your sub-culture is portrayed in a cartoon like fashion.

It's like anything else, extremists make good copy. It's like the y2k coverage, polar opposites, from doom & glooomer to pollyanna when many are just plain in between. Are there whacked out loonies getting ready for y2k? You bet. Are there a bunch of peace loving, hard working, tax paying, average everyday citizens preparing? You bet.

When you see y2k GI's being portrayed in an unflattering manner; remember Christians have been dealing with this dilemma for a long time. (others too...gays, enviromentalists, you name it)

Which brings me full circle to what probably set me off to begin with about that article, because it was the 'Religious Right' & 'Year 2000' 'y2k' all lumped together.....with wacked out cult people. Some of whom really sound like they need help. Compassionate, loving help. Not a lawyer.

As far as ridiculous discrimination claims, I'm right there with you. When you are an employee, work is for work, not for the Bible, the Koran or anything else.

-- Deborah (info@wars.com), March 12, 1999.

Deborah, I didn't mean to take you to task, and I agree with you completely. I'm not against religion or religious people, most of my family and friends are good hard-working "normal" christian people, like you :-). Like everyone else, I'm only scared of those I see as wackoes ;-) And a guy acting like Jesus nailed on the cross at work would scare me too! =:-o

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), March 12, 1999.

years ago, i was an employer, chaired a board whose executive director was a culthopper, it didn't bother me until i found out he was trying to proselytze the staff and clients with pamphlets from his latest "true" faith. i had a talk with him, told him he could do what he wanted off the job, but that there would be none of that stuff from 9 to 5, or he could leave. if the behavior continued, i told him he would get the 1-2-3 reprimands pretty quickly and then be fired. he stopped, and so it wasn't even necessary to bring it up with the board, saving a lot of hassle for everyone. if you have responsibilities, you can either face them courageously or you can get out of the kitchen.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), March 12, 1999.

Mac,

The SJ Mercury, on the other hand, wastes bandwidth on this silliness, rather than devoting itself to true investigative journalism in the heart of Silicon Valley...

Couldnt agree more! Thank goodness for competition and the San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner group. At least they do more investigative homework!

Deborah,

Love the comment ... extremists make good copy. That about says it.

Maybe this qualifies as lumpy reporting?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 12, 1999.