OPM Guidance on Special Treatment for Religious Federal Employees

Date Signed: July 16, 2025 and July 28, 2025

OPM’s Guidance on “Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Purposes” and Memorandum on “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace”

Key Provisions:

• The OPM Guidance on “Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Purposes” provides instructions for agencies to provide accommodations to persons of faith. These may include modifications to work schedules, leave for religious observances, or the provision of facilities for prayer or meditation.
• The Memorandum on “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace” permits employees to engage in religious conversations, wear religious items, and display religious symbols, but requires agencies to regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to prevent disruption and ensure it aligns with the extent that nonreligious expression is allowed. Federal employees are permitted to engage in individual and group prayer.
• The July 28 memo ignores the very existence of the Establishment Clause, which requires that the government be neutral when it comes to religion, neither favoring nor disfavoring any particular religion or religion in general.
• The memo would allow federal officials to impose their religious beliefs on their colleagues or members of the public seeking government services. It will give religious zealots free rein to proselytize up to the point of infringement on the rights and beliefs of their colleagues. Employees seeking professional advancement may feel coerced or threatened to agree with proselytizers.
• The memo appears to suggest a preference for religious employees over nonreligious ones, which marks a dubious departure from longstanding constitutional and merit-based principles in federal employment.
• The July 16 guidance strongly encourages agencies and supervisors to grant federal employees the use of telework and flexible scheduling but only for religious accommodations. It creates a preferential framework that excludes or disadvantages non-religious employees and appears to privilege religious employees over their non-religious colleagues seeking accommodations for other reasons.

Threats to Religious Freedom:

• The July 28 memo ignores the very existence of the Establishment Clause, which requires that the government be neutral when it comes to religion, neither favoring nor disfavoring any particular religion or religion in general.
• The memo would allow federal officials to impose their religious beliefs on their colleagues or members of the public seeking government services. It will give religious zealots free rein to proselytize up to the point of infringement on the rights and beliefs of their colleagues. Employees seeking professional advancement may feel coerced or threatened to agree with proselytizers.
• The memo appears to suggest a preference for religious employees over nonreligious ones, which marks a dubious departure from longstanding constitutional and merit-based principles in federal employment.
• The July 16 guidance strongly encourages agencies and supervisors to grant federal employees the use of telework and flexible scheduling but only for religious accommodations. It creates a preferential framework that excludes or disadvantages non-religious employees and appears to privilege religious employees over their non-religious colleagues seeking accommodations for other reasons.