Religious Observances & Practices

Our faculty, staff, and students are from varied religious and cultural backgrounds which serve to enrich and strengthen our community.  Any event scheduled on a major religious or cultural holiday can send a message of insensitivity or exclusivity to staff and students who cannot participate that day due to their religious beliefs.  Therefore, please avoid scheduling important meetings, exams, or other essential events on such dates whenever possible and to accommodate the observance of religious traditions for those staff and students who need to be absent for religious holidays throughout the year.  Some information about major religious holidays may be found at the University of Maine System Human Resources page.  An extensive listing is online at the Interfaith Calendar web site.

The university is required by state and federal law to make reasonable accommodations to the religious observances and practices of employees or prospective employees provided those accommodations do not result in an undue hardship.  See, e.g., 41 C.F.R. §6­-50.3 and MHRC Ch. 94-348, § 3.10(C)(DOC). Such accommodations might include a schedule change for an employee who regularly observes a particular Sabbath or religious holidays and who is conscientiously opposed to performing work or engaging in similar activity on such days.  The resolution of these issues depends on the particular factual circumstances and involves a delicate balancing of an applicant or employee’s religious needs with the degree of disruption imposed on the institution.

If you are an employee and need a religious accommodation, please contact:

 ADA Coordinator

Amanda Paradis
Telephone:  207.581.1226
TTY:  207.581.9484
amanda.paradis1@maine.edu