After receiving a demand letter from Liberty Counsel, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) rescinded its subpoena and inspection demands that had previously stopped a pastor’s effort to make ministry-related home renovations that would benefit his church. As a result, OSHA conceded it had no jurisdiction over the matter.
Earlier this year, the elders of a church in a state in the mid-Atlantic region determined that the renovations the pastor was making to his property should be paid for by the church because the improvements were directly related and would directly benefit the church’s ministries. After hiring independent contractors to do the renovations, an OSHA Compliance Safety and Health officer (COSHO) inspected the property and subsequently subpoenaed the church with unnecessary questions and demands. Under the subpoena, OSHA was treating the church as an “employer” engaged in commerce rather than considering the pastor as a private “individual homeowner” just making improvements to his property.
While the pastor stopped work to meet some of the demands, such as supplying hard hats, safety glasses, and harnesses, he informed OSHA that his sole role was as a “homeowner” and that he was not controlling the contracting business doing the work. Yet, the COSHO escalated the issue over questions about the contract between the pastor and the contractors and subcontractors.
In the demand letter, Liberty Counsel stated that according to OHSA’s definition of “employer,” defined as “a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees,” the pastor is a homeowner and is outside OSHA’s jurisdiction and standards.
As such, OSHA simply has no jurisdiction to issue a subpoena because a church reimbursing its pastor for home renovations does not constitute a business affecting commerce, nor does a residential homeowner constitute an “employer” by simply overseeing his home’s renovations, wrote Liberty Counsel. The “burdensome and intrusive nature of the subpoena” violates the First Amendment, Commerce Clause, and Religious Freedom Restoration Act by placing a “substantial burden” on the church’s free exercise of religion.
Liberty Counsel also noted that the church had received opposition in the past from outspoken people disagreeing with the church’s religious beliefs on social media and contacting government officials. While it is unclear whether the OSHA inspection and subpoena were the result of a “weaponized complaint” from people displaying an anti-Christian bias, Liberty Counsel invoked President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” to stop any such activity.
Under the order, it is the federal government’s policy to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end “the anti-Christian weaponization of government.” The order honors the Founders’ original intent of having a nation where people could freely practice their faith without discrimination or retaliation by their government.
“The subpoena to a residential homeowner who is also the pastor of a church under these facts could very well be a violation of Executive Order 14202 ‘Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias’ and weaponization of government against Christians,” wrote Liberty Counsel.
After Liberty Counsel pointed out the deficiencies in the subpoena and informed OSHA of the previous instances of anti-Christian bias, OHSA closed the investigation into the pastor’s home improvements.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration did the right thing by closing the investigation and effectively rescinding its subpoena. It has no jurisdiction over a church and its pastor making private home renovations. Under the First Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and now the ‘Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias’ executive order, religious freedom has unique legal protections. Since churches are not businesses making a profit, these legal protections allow a church to reimburse its pastor for ministry-related home improvements without the need for government interference. There is no room for weaponized agency complaints and anti-Christian bias in the government.”
