OPM has told federal agencies that they are to “robustly” protect and enforce “each federal employee’s right to engage in religious expression in the federal workplace,” including through displays of religious items and, during work breaks, activities such as prayer and evangelizing—so long as it is not “harassing in nature.”
“The Federal workforce should be a welcoming place for Federal employees who practice a religious faith. Allowing religious discrimination in the Federal workplace violates the law. It also threatens to adversely impact recruitment and retention of highly-qualified employees of faith,” says a memo on chcoc.gov, citing protections under the First Amendment and the Civil Rights Act.
“Agencies should allow personal religious expression by Federal employees to the greatest extent possible unless such expression would impose an undue hardship on business operations. And they should review and (if necessary) revise their internal policies to ensure that they appropriately protect religious expression,” it says.
