E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1 Page 79 Government. Under Title VII, employees cannot be forced to participate--or not participate--in a religious activity as a condition of employment. Employers must reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. 313. The Government indicated that a reasonable religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow the employee to practise his religion. An employer is not required to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs and practices if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer's legitimate business interests. An employer can show undue hardship if accommodating an employee's religious practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs, diminishes efficiency in other jobs, infringes on other employees' job rights or benefits, impairs workplace safety, causes co-workers to carry the accommodated employee's share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work, or creates a conflict with another law or regulation. Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression if employees are permitted to engage in other personal expression at work, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Therefore, an employer may not place more restrictions on religious expression than on other forms of expression that have a comparable effect on workplace efficiency. Employers must also take steps to prevent religious harassment of their employees. In fiscal year 2002 (1 October 2001 – 30 September 2002), the EEOC received 2,572 charges alleging religious discrimination. The Commission resolved 2,729 religious discrimination charges and recovered $4.3 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation). 314. The Commission believes that the preferred method for eradicating employment discrimination at the workplace is to prevent it from happening in the first place. It has a statutory mandate to educate the public and provide outreach and technical assistance to facilitate voluntary compliance with the laws the Commission enforces, a mandate that took on even greater importance in the aftermath of 11 September 11. Three days after 11 September 2001, EEOC Chair Dominguez made a strong public statement advocating tolerance and avoidance of workplace discrimination. The Chair encouraged employers to re-emphasize their antidiscrimination and harassment policies, and to do everything within their power to prevent the singling-out of Middle Eastern and Muslim employees. The EEOC devoted a section of its web site to issues related to 11 September and posted on the site a fact sheet explaining Title VII's prohibitions against religious and national origin discrimination. 315. The EEOC also coordinated with the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor to ensure that the federal response to backlash discrimination is uniform and strong. The leaders of the three civil rights agencies issued a joint statement that commended acts of tolerance since 11 September, but also stated that there had been continuing reports of workplace harassment and discrimination against Arab, Muslim, and South Asian employees. The statement emphasized the importance of prevention, and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to non-discrimination in the workplace.