The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance this week to all federal departments and agencies outlining robust protections for religious expression by federal employees in the workplace. According to the July 28 memo, “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace,” every federal employee has the “right to engage in religious expression” at work because the First Amendment protects religious expressions by all Americans—including federal workers.
The memo reads, “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.” As such, the guidance informs agencies that they “should allow personal religious expression” by federal workers “to the greatest extent possible” without imposing any undue hardship on business operations, which does not include other employees disliking such expression.
Essentially, the memo explains federal workers can display religious items, engage in group prayer during non-duty hours, and discuss their religious beliefs in “polite” discussions with their co-workers that are not “harassing in nature.” Employees are also allowed to invite co-workers to religious services and can participate in other expressions of faith even in positions with public interaction, such as a national park ranger praying with tour groups or a Veterans Affairs doctor praying over a patient for recovery, the memo noted.
The memo listed five broad categories of permissible religious conduct and expression, including, but not limited to:
- “Display and Use of Items Used for Religious Purposes or Religious Icons…including but not limited to Bibles, artwork, jewelry, posters displaying religious messages, and other indicia of religion (such as crosses, crucifixes and mezuzahs) on their desks, on their person, and in their assigned workspaces.”
- “Expressions By Groups of Federal Employees…in both formal and informal settings alone or with fellow employees, so long as such expressions do not occur during on-duty time. Agencies should not restrict such expressions based merely on hypothetical or potential concerns.”
- “Conversations Between Federal Employees…regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature. Employees may also encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer, to the same extent that they would be permitted to encourage coworkers participate in other personal activities.”
- “Expressions Among or Directed at Members of the Public: An employee’s fundamental rights, as a private citizen…are not limited by the venue or hearer, or merely because the employee is a government employee, and therefore may not be suppressed due to the religious nature of the expression.” Here, the guidance noted that when public employees speak as part of their official duties they “are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes,” and their communications may not be insulated from discipline.
- “Expressions in Areas Accessible to the Public…should be treated in the same manner as if those expressions are made in areas inaccessible to the public as their rights to free expression are not limited upon entering a public facility.”
In July 2025, the OPM issued earlier guidance encouraging agencies to adopt a “generous approach” to approving religious accommodations regarding telework options and flexible work schedules for employees to practice their faith during the workday.
The OPM’s policies invoke Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “prohibits discrimination in employment because of an individual’s religion,” to ensure people of faith have “full participation in the workforce.”
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The U.S. Constitution protects religious expression for all Americans. This common sense guidance is a reminder that the right to religious expression does not disappear in the federal workplace. Americans do not have to set their faith aside when they enter government employment.”
