Prepare for expanded religious accommodations and expression obligations

Employers should prepare for expanded religious accommodation and religious expression obligations under the second Trump administration.

Trump admin focuses on workers’ ‘religious freedom’

In August, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued two new policies on religion in the federal workplace. “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace” encourages federal workers to show off their faith and even proselytize coworkers. The second policy, “Reasonable Accommodation for Religious Purposes,” focuses on examples of potential religious accommodations including telework. While these policies don’t affect private employers, they do reflect the Trump administration’s broad view of religious freedom in the workplace and may encourage religious employees in private workplaces to push for increased rights.

In last month’s FELI, we noted that Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea Lucas issued a press release, Update on 200 Days of Action to Protect Religious Freedom, that identified all the actions the EEOC is taking to expand workers’ rights to “religious freedom” (see “With Lucas confirmed and Panuccio next, EEOC quorum expected soon”).

Federal EEOC decisions provide guidance