Trump admin. guidance encourages robust religious accommodations for federal employees

The U.S. federal government issued guidance on Wednesday to encourage robust accommodations for religious liberty among federal employees, including telework options and modified work schedules, to ensure that federal workers have as much freedom as possible to practice their faith during the workday.

The Office of Personnel Management sent the heads and acting heads of all federal government agencies a memorandum, citing new policies to comply with the Trump administration’s push to ensure that “all executive departments and agencies (agencies) honor and enforce the Constitution’s guarantee of religious liberty” and end “any form of religious discrimination by the federal government.”

Additional justifications for the new guidance include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on an individual’s religion and requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would create an “undue hardship” for the employer.

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