18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies · Notable
Issue an executive order protecting religious employers and employees
Printed page 586 18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies
“Issue an executive order protecting religious employers and employees. The President should make clear via executive order that religious employers are free to run their businesses according to their religious beliefs, general nondiscrimination laws notwithstanding, and support participation of religious employees and employers as federal contractors and in federal activities and programs.”
What has happened
- Partially done
The Department of Labor published a request for information asking faith organizations to identify barriers to their participation in DOL-funded or regulated programs, and committing DOL to "provide equal treatment and reasonable accommodations for faith organizations" in job training, employment support and community outreach. Delivery of the federal-programs limb by this Chapter's own department; the religious-employer limb remains untouched by any order.
- Attempted
Executive Order 14205 established the White House Faith Office inside the Domestic Policy Council with "lead responsibility in the executive branch to empower faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship to serve families and communities", and directed agency faith offices to identify and remove barriers to faith-based participation in federal programs. It speaks to the Quote's second limb — participation in federal activities and programs — and says nothing about religious employers' freedom from general nondiscrimination law.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Two-limb ask (§3b): (a) an executive order making religious employers free to run their businesses on their religious beliefs “general nondiscrimination laws notwithstanding”, and (b) support for religious employers and employees as federal contractors and in federal programs. Limb (b) is delivered in part; limb (a) has no instrument at all — no order in the window says it, and Executive Orders 14202 (Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, 2025-02-06) and 14291 (Religious Liberty Commission, 2025-05-01) are about bias inside the government and a study commission respectively, not about employers’ obligations under Title VII.
- Two DOL rulemakings are announced but unpublished: RIN 1290-AA53, Equal Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in DOL’s Programs and Activities: Implementation of Executive Order 14205 (NPRM scheduled 11/2026), and RIN 1291-AA52, Modifications to the Regulations with Respect to Religious Liberty, a direct final rule scheduled 07/2026 that would amend the undue burden standard for religious accommodations in 29 CFR 38.6(f). Neither had appeared in the Federal Register by 2026-08-31. Read from reginfo.gov, pubId 202510.
- Action
- issue
- Object
- Executive order protecting religious employers and employees
- ID
- 1606