Trump Administration Strengthens Work-From-Home Options for Federal Employees for Religious Reasons

Employees may be allowed to telework on or before days of religious importance, according to the new guidance.

Orthodox Jewish people walk during shabbat in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York City on Dec. 16, 2023. Charly Triballeau /AFP via Getty Images

Federal agencies should consider granting flexible work arrangements, such as working from home, for employees who request such an option citing religious reasons, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a July 16 memorandum.

“Agencies are encouraged to adopt a generous approach to approving religious accommodations, prioritizing employee needs while maintaining operational efficiency,” the memo stated.

“This guidance is applicable to all employees in the Executive Branch who have personal religious beliefs requiring accommodations, such as abstaining from work during specific times or participating in religious observances or practices.”

The types of working options that agencies can offer employees under religious accommodation include telework or remote work, religious compensatory time off, and flexible schedules.

Agencies are “strongly encouraged” to consider a work-from-home option as a reasonable accommodation for religious practices because it allows employees to fulfil their religious duties without compromising agency missions, the memo stated.

For instance, during Sabbath or other holiday observances and preparations, employees can be allowed to work from their residences on and/or before days of religious significance, avoiding travel and commuting times that may interfere with such religious activities, the OPM said.

The memo called this a “low-cost solution” that does not impose “substantial operational burdens” on agencies.

The religious compensatory time-off accommodation allows workers to adjust their work schedules, perform overtime work, and earn time off from work for religious observances.

“To the extent that modifications in work schedules do not interfere with the efficient accomplishment of an agency’s mission, an employee must be permitted upon request to earn and take religious compensatory time off for a religious observance or practice,” the memo stated.

Other types of arrangements that agencies can consider include annual leave and leave without pay.

“Upon receiving a request for a religious accommodation, agencies must engage in a good-faith interactive process with the employee to explore reasonable accommodations,” the OPM stated.

“Agencies should further assess whether an accommodation imposes a substantial burden on operations. Agencies should document their analyses to ensure compliance with Title VII and applicable law.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of religion.

The OPM’s decision to relax work-from-home arrangements for federal employees follows a Jan. 20 memorandum signed by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s memorandum called on agencies to take “all necessary steps” to end remote work arrangements and ask workers to return to work in person on a full-time basis. However, the memorandum asked department and agency heads to “make exemptions they deem necessary.”

The OPM then issued guidance in January and February to implement Trump’s memorandum.

On Feb. 7, Trump signed a presidential action highlighting that the executive branch is committed to ensuring that departments and agencies “honor and enforce the Constitution’s guarantee of religious liberty and to ending any form of religious discrimination by the Federal Government.”

Later on May 1, Trump signed an executive order clarifying that the executive branch would “vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in Federal law.”

On July 14, Trump attended a luncheon hosted by the White House Faith Office, during which he talked about bringing faith back into the national conversation.

“We have to bring religion back into the country, and we’re starting to do that, I think, at a very high level,” he said.

Supreme Court Decision

In the July 16 memo, the OPM cited the Supreme Court’s June 2023 Groff v. DeJoy decision.

The court unanimously ruled in the case that the Postal Service violated the constitutional rights of an evangelical Christian mail carrier when it refused his request not to work on the Sunday Sabbath.

At the time, attorney Aaron Streett, who represented Groff, hailed the court decision.

“Our nation has a long history of protecting its employees from being treated differently at work just because of their faith. This decision is consistent with that history and is a tremendous win for all people of faith,” he said.

Under the “undue hardship” standard clarified in the case, an employer has to demonstrate “substantial increased costs” to the business in order to deny a worker’s request for religious accommodation, the OPM stated in the memo.

“As a result of this decision, employers may not deny requests based on minor inconveniences,” the agency stated.

“Federal agencies must adhere to the requirements of Title VII and the Groff clarification of the ‘undue hardship’ standard when addressing religious accommodation requests.”