Archived Target and Church

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BlueBeauty

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Nov 3, 2014
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So I've been working at target for almost a year now and I had asked to have Sunday's off for work. The STL said no and we came to a compromise that I can come in at X time so that I'd have time in the morning to go to a morning service and have lunch with family. I realize that this is retail and working weekends is a job requirement, but I'm wondering if I have any religious rights? I can prove that I am a church goer and that I'm not lying just to have Sunday's off. And from what I can tell I'm one of the few people at work that is religious and goes to church so it's not like everyone is dying to have Sunday's off. What annoys me is that a TM gets Sunday's off no matter what becasue they let her pick a date to have off for the week. I haven't had one Sunday off this whole year and I have my old schedules to prove it. It's not fair that I'm working every single Saturday and Sunday while there are others that can work Sunday every once in a while so I can have my full day at church. So is there anything I can do? My STL was very rude about the situation, so I'm wondering how to come about this. I don't want to make this into a huge thing but I want to do something. Any suggestions?
 
Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. If you are being sarcastic, anybody got some serious suggestions?
 
While there are federal protections for religious observance, you would be hard pressed to prove you need the entire day off. If service is in the morning, there shouldn't be by reason to work out that you can't work Sundays until 2pm.

That's how my availability is set, and it works out quite well...of course that means I close every single Sunday I work, but it's a trade off I am willing to make to be able to attend worship every week.
 
The way my church is and how most churches in my religion is, we have Sunday school in the morning and a service right after. Then we have the afternoon to go home and do whatever and then another evening service. Then we also have a midweek evening service but I don't go to that one. I just want to be able to go on Sunday's. Right now my schedule is set up like yours but I'm still upset with it. Id rather work in the mornings and go to evening service if I could but I'm scared to approach this whole subject due to what the STL said to me about religion etc.
 
If your church only offered one (1) service, you might have some grounds.

At my former stores you had to have open availability on weekends, or you would have minimal hours.
 
I just had my availability listed as starting at 2pm on Sunday. That gave me enough time to come home from church and eat lunch and then get ready for church. Of course my church doesn't have evening services so that doesn't come up.
 
Why can't you just morning service/Spot or Spot/evening service? Whichever one comes up?

*edit - I just read about no evening service. Find another church for that, eh?
 
you do indeed have religious rights. My wife and I are Orthodox Jews so we don't work Friday night or Saturdays. We made a compromise and work on Sundays and other holidays and days, we made it a win win, when it comes to the Jewish holidays we request off with plenty of time and we don't take advantage of anything. One of our Food avenue TMs does not work Sundays, She however if there is an emergency will come in Sundays as long as she can have off that Saturday night off so she can go to services. My overall suggestion is you need to be willing to compromise and find a way to make it a win, win situation. Good luck.
 
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Patty said:
I go to church every wk.it lasts an hour. I never heard of all day church. What do you do if it lasts all day?
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Different religions have different types of service...even within a particular religion, services can be different lengths depending on where/when you attend. For example, some Catholic services are 20 minutes, some last over an hour, depending on which one you attend (usually the shorter one is on Saturday night).

BlueBeauty, you absolutely have religious rights. Just submit for an availability change with none on Sunday. I haven't submitted an availability change in a long time, but I think you can add comments. If so, just put "religious reasons" and they will most likely approve it. If possible, do it on a computer where you can print out a copy of your submission. A company like Target doesn't want to risk a lawsuit over religion.
That being said, we have people of various faiths working at my store....one doesn't work Saturdays because of his religion. Another doesn't work Sundays. Not because they are attending mass all day, but because their religions take the "keep holy the sabbath" commandment literally so they aren't supposed to work....
 
I really wasnt trying to be disrespectful or o offend anyone. If I did , I sincerely apologize.
I am Catholic, my husband is Presbyterian, so we alternate. Both of us laugh bc the Catholic mass is very quick ! He cant get over it.
I was just curious as to the activities.
 
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If you're willing to work every other day no matter what time, you should be allowed to get Sundays off. STL is being a jerk. At my store we have people with very limited availabilities (including me) and the roof hasn't collapsed. The worry by management that other TMs may not think it's fair and complain is such bullshit. Nobody cares and those who do are always going to be jealous.
 
I am guessing you did not put this on your availability when you were hired? This is something that happens a lot. People say they have open availability with weekends being the most important to the store to get the job. Then reveal later they need a certain day off. That might explain you STLs reaction because likely he has seen this many times. Can you not swap shifts with others who are off on Sunday? And do you not need the hours because likely if they do let you have it off they will not replace that shift on another day.
 
What's your work center? Swap shifts? Maybe see if you can get every other sunday off? Can you come in early and do ad prep and be done by opening?
 
So if you stated you had an open availability, that's pretty disingenuous on your part, as your hiring was probably contingent on that. We have team members who take Saturday or Sunday off for religious purposes but they negotiated a solution between themselves and their ETL that worked out pretty well. You may need to find a way to compromise on this, as depending on your market the leadership may be less willing simply because one of those days are their peak days. It won't kill them to lose you that day if they're a big enough store, since not everyone gets scheduled those days, so work with that info. This is generally only really doable if you're a generic team member (softlines, hardlines, or cashier), and will get harder the more specialized or higher up you are.

Best of luck.
 
I had one TM that basically said he could only work until 4:30 on Sunday so he could make it to 6 o'clock mass. Unless your church service lasts all day it's a long shot. I'd say at least open your availability around your church service.
 
I would try requesting an availability change.
It worked for me when I was getting invovled with some church committees. I was a cashier, so if they scheduled me I'd close on Sunday.Usually a short shift.
I would also discuss it with your ETL.
 
Um, Federal law says employers are required to make "reasonable accommodations," for one's religious beliefs. Thus, so long as it's a single day of the week, they are required to give you your religion's holy day off if you request it without retaliation. (No drastic cutting of hours, etc.).
 
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