Ramadan is coming up soon, so now is a good time to understand an employer’s religious accommodation obligations and legal protections for Muslim employees. This year—depending on the exact timing of lunar events on which the Islamic calendar is based—Ramadan will start around February 18, 2026, and end around March 19, 2026. The start of Ramadan depends on sightings of the crescent moon. Each year, Ramadan lasts twenty-nine or thirty days.

• Employers may need to provide religious accommodations to Muslim workers during the month of Ramadan.
• Ramadan is expected to begin on February 18, 2026 (following confirmation of the crescent moon on February 17).
• Ramadan is predicted to end on March 19, 2026 (again, depending on the lunar cycle).
• Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan with a festival.

Observant Muslims do not eat or drink water in the daylight hours during Ramadan. In some cases, Muslims who are ill, pregnant, or breastfeeding may be exempted from the obligation to fast during the day. It is common practice to eat a meal just before dawn (about ninety minutes before sunrise) and right at sunset during Ramadan. Along with the five daily prayer sessions typically required throughout the year, two additional prayers are recommended during Ramadan, an evening prayer (called “Taraweeh”) and a late night, early morning prayer (called “Qiyam”).

Employers can consider flexible work hours and/or telework to accommodate Muslim employees’ religious fasting needs. The exact...

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