The Biden administration outlined a plan this week that would cancel a Trump-era rule expanding religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws for federal contractors.
The rule, which went into effect in the last days of the administration of President Donald Trump, broadened the exemption to include employers who “hold themselves out to the public as carrying out a religious purpose.” The exemption previously applied to a more narrowly defined set of religious groups, according to Reuters.
Trump’s rule known as Executive Order 11246 prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
But it also contained a religious exemption for certain faith-oriented corporations, associations, educational institutions, and societies with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion.
NBC News reports the rule, released by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) during the Trump administration, says it’s meant to “correct any misperception that religious organizations are disfavored in government contracting by setting forth appropriate protections for their autonomy to hire employees who will further their religious missions.”
If the rule is abolished, the Labor Department will return to the protocols in place during the administrations of former President George Bush and former President Barack Obama.
The Federal Register published the new proposal on Tuesday.
“Since the religious exemption has been in place, OFCCP has no record of any federal contractor having invoked this exemption in any OFCCP compliance evaluation or complaint investigation,” Yang wrote.
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The Trump administration framed the rule as a necessary step to ensure the full participation of religious organizations in the federal contractor system. But critics of the rule, including LGBT groups, warned that it would open the door to discrimination, according to Reuters.
The White House Office of Management and Budget concluded its review of OFCCP’s proposal on Oct. 26. Comments may be submitted on the proposal at the Federal Register website during the comment period, which ends on Dec. 9.
At the moment, though, the more pressing concern for many federal contractors and employees might be their attempt to get a religious exemption from Biden’s vaccine mandates.
As CBN News reported Monday, federal employees are facing a deadline on Jan. 4 to get their final COVID-19 inoculations. The White House pushed the deadline back last Thursday. The previous deadline was Dec. 8.
While most of the federal employees report they are complying, thousands are seeking exemptions on religious grounds.
As CBN News reported, the state of Florida has sued the Biden administration over its coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the lawsuit on Oct. 28, saying the president doesn’t have the authority to issue the rule, and that it violates a key element of the law.
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