Hiring Discrimination
 

Do mandatory religious services fall into this category?

I am currently going thru the RCIA process and the program ends at the end of March, Easter Vigil. For the next 3 Sunday mornings, I HAVE to be at church. And then the 26th is just super important of course.

I put those dates on an application for a hotel. The HR associate there basically told me that there is a chance I won't get hired, let alone an interview if I don't have a flexible schedule. The lower the seniority, the more weekends and holidays front desk associates have to work.

I told her I was getting confirmed and that I have to go to church on those days. (I didn't even mention the weekend long retreat I have to go on either.) But I was available at all hours on every other day of the week.

I ask because obviously with the multitudes of other interviews I am going to have for part time work that involves weekends, I am probably going to be asked about my availability. Obviously I can't get out of morning mass, being dismissed during mass and the class afterward. But it's only for 3 more weeks or so.

How can I avoid having my application/resume being thrown out because my weekend availability is shot for the next month?

So let me get this straight.

They wants a person to work on Sundays.

You can't work on Sundays but are applying anyway.

And if they don't take you, you think it's hiring discrimination?

-Rudey

More or less.

I applied not knowing they would make a big stink about it.

However, since I am pretty desperate for a job at this point, I'm more interested in how to let people know that I'm unavailable Sundays without them discrediting my resume/application completely because I have to go to church. Sure I could get a M-F job if there was something available that paid well (and would call me back...). But I may have to resort to getting two PT jobs in the retail realm for now.

I'd suggest you wait until after Easter to apply for jobs. Industries like hotels want employees who are flexible in the days they can work. If you can't be flexible, they aren't going to hire you. WHY you can't work Sundays is irrelevant, they will just go on to the person who can work those days.

I agree. If you cannot meet the requirements for a job WHATEVER the reason, that doesn't mean they are discriminating against you. It makes programatic sense. And there are plenty of people who are able to make the sacrifice and work the hours. Keep in mind that when you apply for any weekend position, you are going to have to sacrifice your religious and social life. If you aren't able to bend on that then I suggest looking for something during the week or on-call.

Well this isn't what I wanted to hear. Of course I didn't want to hear that I was being laid off either. Such is life.

And no, I wasn't going to go sue the hotel for not hiring me. Ya'll have a point... I just don't want to realize it.

oh good for you! I went through RCIA two years ago...best thing I ever did :)

You have to think carefully about this and make your own decision. What's more important to you, having this particular job or completing the process of becoming Catholic?

Is there any particular reason you have to be at a specific Mass for the next 3 Sundays? Can you attend a vigil Mass the night before if you're scheduled for a Sunday morning?

If your church/priest won't budge, and you're offered the job on the contingency that you must work those Sundays, you will have to choose - either forgo RCIA for now, or forgo the job. If you forgo the job, you can explain that you would be available on Sundays after Easter and that you'd like to be reconsidered later on.

I hate to be so blunt, but as I see it, those are your options.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

I'm not sure why you even disclosed WHY you couldn't work? Did you think if they didn't hire you then you could use it as an excuse/blame of sorts?

In the sort of job you're looking for, when you're low on the totem poll, working weekends is pretty much a given until you get seniority. No matter where you go.

They want someone with a flexible schedule. You don't have one. You and the job are not a good fit right now :)

I have to agree on either looking for something during the week or waiting until after you're confirmed. You can't have the cake and eat it, too :) especially if you gave it up for lent ;) bad joke.

But congrats on becoming a Catholic :)

It's not necessarily THIS particular job. (The pay wasn't that great anyway.) I'm just talking about other jobs I may come across that pay well and need some weekend availability... like catering and such.

And it just seems really silly to give up RCIA three weeks before Easter. Especially since I probably won't be hired and officially scheduled until the week of. I would hate to be hired and then say "Oh wait, on the 26th, I can't work that night!"


I hate job hunting...

Then either stick to your guns, or wait to apply for those jobs until after. Generally places don't hire until they NEED someone, and then they need someone then :)

It's only a couple more weeks. If you need money that badly, get creative!

chideltjen, I PM'ed you!
:D

God helps those who help themselves. Take a few weeks off church.

I too have been through the RCIA. It's a long process and you don't just skip out on the last three weeks. When I did it, we started in September and finished at the Easter Vigil. However, you ARE available to work those Sundays, after church and class, on afternoon shift. The hiring process can take more than two weeks anyway. If you had a previous job, you'd be giving them two weeks notice. That only leaves a third week to deal with and you'd probably be training that week. I would interview and see what happens, and discuss the schedule after they decide to hire you.

You have to make a choice then. It's hard, if not impossible to hire someone if you know that their availability will be limited, right off the bat.