how can you prove a religious belief that you alone might believe
no they cannot request proof
if anything they may ask what your beliefs are and why they have to be left that way
Man I just lost everything I was typing, ugh. Haven't been here in forever but came across this and had to weigh in. Word to whomever linked to title vii. I've been locked for 5.5 years this time around and I've been in quite a few corporate jobs, with this set and the last. Walmart actually tried to fire me until I threatened a lawsuit and then they were all apologies. I'm at McDonald's now and they tried to get on me at first but I shut it down real quick and now they're cool, they tried to tell me I had to wear a bun "so they don't get in the food" and I told them that my locs don't shed a fraction of what normal hair sheds but I gladly would as soon as every other female employee did the same instead of wearing ponytails... Now I rock a ponytail, what.
all you need is this line right here: my locs are symbolic of my spiritual commitment and faith, they are as clean as yours or anyone else's hair and under title vii you are not permitted to treat me differently or require me to present myself differently than any other employee. DONE.
You don't work with food or in a kitchen so they can't make you wear a hairnet, and if their policy doesn't require all long haired employees to tie their hair up then they can't legally make you do it - which is good because I can't think of any "religious" excuse for not using a hair tie lol. But in general you can really just tell them you are rasta, and there's no real way to disprove it unless you eat swine in front of them... Buuutttt even so, the law specifically says that religious beliefs must be respected and exceptions must be made EVEN IF you are not very devout and don't fully adhere to the religion. The fact is that they're a large corporation and they're not going to want the negatives that will inevitably come upon them if they try to dispute whether or not your beliefs are actually your beliefs.
I'm trying not to get too long-winded here cuz I do that a lot, but the important part is, please, DO NOT let them push you around and bully you into giving up your rights. Be assertive and firm and they'll realize quickly that you're not to be fucked with unless they want to risk a lawsuit, which they won't. McDonald's even told me that I couldn't have my purse and hoodie with red gold and green on them cuz they're "pot smoking colors" and could be offensive to customers, and after I told them that they're the colors of the Ethiopian flag and the symbol of my faith and I won't be discriminated against, they sent the DISTRICT MANAGER to my store to personally apologize to me!! Stand up for yourself and your locs and you WILL win!!
As a side note, I don't like to condone faking spirituality cuz I haaaaate that shit, but using it to defend your right to wear dreadlocks is different than pretending in your everyday life so anything for the sake of locs and freedom. BUT if you're going to have to fake it, I mean I don't know you or anything about you but the ras in me has to say that perhaps if you're at a point in your life where you might be looking for a spiritual path, please do some reading and reasoning on rasta as a lifestyle (cuz it is not religion, it is lifestyle and spirituality but NOT religion) and maybe you'll find that it is right for you. I might not eat 100% ital and I still have a disgusting nicotine addiction to kick, but rasta changed my entire life and every day I give thanks for the events that brought this path to light for me.
oook, I'll shut up now I promise. Good luck, fight for your right to dreadlock!!!!
Also. In reference to putting them up without harm, I've found that the best thing for me is those rubber no slip elastics by scünci, you can wrap them around once so it's still pretty loose but they won't slip at all. I've damaged my locs by wearing elastics too tight and also by tying them up with the same locs over and over and putting too much stress on them... But a loose pony is great and those elastics are my holy grail. Pretty sure you won't need them though since I'm thinking your employer can't really make you tie them up in the first place! Peace!
post that in response here too
i wrote up a explanation of your rights including the full title vii
butthat reply would be awesome to add to that post too
also alison.. dreadlocks are a part ofalmost all religions and spiritualities so you dont have to 'pretend" to be ras you can simply statye my spiritual beliefs require me to live a more natural lifestyle
or that your buddhist and its a seperationfrom attrachment to vanity
or many hindu muslim or christian/jewish people wear them for thier own reasons
in fact according to that l,aw and the way its written you can say 'i believe fairies tangled my hair in my sleep and its bad luck to untangle them"
your beliefs dont have to be in line with any established belief system
they dont have to make sense even
as long as they are "sincerely held beliefs"
Lmao!!! This is true, in reference to the fairies, I do love the way that law is written. Perfect really. I guess I should have elaborated before, I just put rasta out there cuz it's pretty much the easiest way to inarguably "prove" that your religion justifies your hair. As in it's foolproof and watertight in the event of an employer actually wanting you to "prove" that your beliefs are "sincerely held"... I mean not that that would ever happen within a big dumb American corporation. All it took with Walmart was exactly what I typed up there. My locs are a symbol of my spiritual commitment and faith. And they didn't dare question me further. I don't think most employers would.
but yes for the sake of technicality, you are correct. You could literally make up any ridiculous belief and call it your religion and be protected by law just the same, as long as no one can prove that you're not sincere... But how would they?
hmmm... Now I'm over here wondering if I could get an accommodation at my job so I don't have to wash the bacon pans!!!
i dont see why not
i couldnt do it i refused a job because it was working with meat (the stench was worse then a sewage plant)
UPDATE
So I put in my request for religious accomudation on monday. I thought things would be left alone but it seems that they are still gonna stress the fact that I tye these dreads up 
... I got pulled into the office right before i got of work today and was told that I need to bring a written document in stating my religion tomorrow. I was also told AGAIN that my hair looked funny on the sides and that they were going to have to be forced to make me tye them up. Harrasing words such as my hair looks like a "rats nest" today ... Ive told them that i don't wanna have to give a RELIGION and that im dreading for a spritual religious purpose... I almost wanna put RASTA down but seeing as I have been following for 7-8 years now as well... but i just don't feel like its there place to ask. I belive as well if they aren't forcing others to tye up their hair he shouldn't be able to tell me because HE thinks it looks like a RATS NEST rofl... Anyway thanks for the feedback guys it REALLY helps, and its awesome to be part of the fourm 
Ive been really stressed with all this shit going on and its not healthy... I have been really sticking to it that i DONT wanna have to tye it up and how uncomfortable it makes me to all management so far...
tell then that according to titler vii its ileggal for them to ask for proof ofreligios beliefs and that thier statements are harrassment and they can either stop or settle it in court but since its a well established right guaranteed by the bill of rights you automaticly win and they would have to take it to the supreme court even cause its a set precedwence backed up by thousands of cases
put this statement on writting
so you ask me for proof ofmy religion, well religion cannot be proven, i ask you for proof of your belief inyour own existence
you can make any number of statements to prove that you exist but in order for those statements to hold true you have to believe them to be true
you have to believe that you exist
now i can tell you that i believe my hair holds a higher purpose and significance
i can tell you i believe it must remain umcom,bed uncut and unbound.. in its natural state
but can i prove these to be true? the very basis of religion and spirituality is belief in things that are unprovable
to ask me to prove the unprovable is an excersize in futility can you proove the existence of god of spirits of souls
by the definition of the law i do not have to prove my belifs only that i sincerely believe them
and the fact that i wear my hair this way is proof of my sincere belief
you ask me to prove my belief so i can wear the proof of my belief
well i will wear my proof of my belief to prove my belief
and if you wish to challenged that then the courts have already ruled in my favor
tresent them with the printout of the entire title vii
Yeah im worried that they are an AT WILL company or some shit and they are just gonna turn around and fire me 
I REALLY wish that I didn't have to hassle this much over it:(
