Article Title: OPM | Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Purposes July 16, 2025 Memorandum (PDF)
I. Background and Purpose
Since taking office, President Trump has made it a top priority to “ensur[e] 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.”1 Specifically, “[i]t shall be the policy of the executive branch to
vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in
Federal law.”2 In addition, it is in the interest of the Federal government to recruit and
retain highly-qualified employees of faith.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 19643 prohibits discrimination in employment
because of an individual’s religion, among other protected characteristics. The statute
requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious observances,
practices, and beliefs unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the conduct of
the employer’s business.4
In Groff v. DeJoy,5 the United States Supreme Court clarified that the “undue
hardship” standard requires an employer to demonstrate substantial increased costs in
relation to the conduct of its particular business to deny a religious accommodation. As
a result of this decision, employers may not deny requests based on minor
inconveniences.
1 President Trump, Executive Order 14205, Establishment of The White House Faith Office (Feb. 7, 2025).
2 President Trump, Executive Order 14291, Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission (May 1, 2025).
3 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2.
4 Id.; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j); see also 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1.
5 600 U.S. 447 (2023
Source: www.chcoc.gov
