/>iOn July 28, 2025, the United States Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) issued a memorandum endorsing federal employees expressing their religious beliefs in the workplace. Specifically, OPM Director Scott Kupor instructed government agencies to “allow personal religious expression by Federal employees to the greatest extent possible unless such expression would impose an undue hardship on business operations.”
Although this memorandum does not directly contemplate any new direction for private employers, it raises questions about whether this guidance signals impending changes in the private sector.
What Does This Mean for the Federal Workplace?
The OPM memorandum directs federal employers to permit religious expression in the workplace to the same extent as other non-religious, private expression. Stated otherwise, the OPM is encouraging federal employees to fully express their religious beliefs. This is a unique policy stance that has not been observed in recent memory.
The OPM offered a handful of “categories” to demonstrate what religious conduct should be permitted, including:
- Display and use of items used for religious purposes or religious icons
- Expressions by groups of federal employees
- Conversations between federal employees
- Expressions among or directed at members of the public
- Expressions in areas accessible to the public
The OPM memorandum clarifies that the “undue hardship” exception remains but avoids discussing it in much detail. Absent evidence to the contrary, it is expected that the OPM will utilize the standard endorsed by the Supreme Court in 2023. Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). In Groff, the Supreme Court held that “undue hardship is shown when a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business,” “tak[ing] into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodations at issue and their practical impact in light of the nature, size and operating cost of an employer.”
What Type of Belief Is “Religious” According to the OPM?
Notably, the OPM memorandum defers to traditional Title VII analyses for determining what would constitute a “sincerely held religious belief” warranting protection. The EEOC has been abundantly clear that protections are not just reserved for traditional, organized religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, but rather a realm of “moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.” Further, the Supreme Court has made it clear that it is not a court’s role to determine the reasonableness of an individual’s religious beliefs, and that “religious beliefs need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others in order to merit First Amendment protection.”
In sum, the best practice for federal employers is to take a broad approach to defining religion in the workplace to avoid any semblance of discriminatory conduct, so long as the expression of these beliefs does not constitute a true “undue hardship.”
What About Private Employers?
While this memorandum does not apply to private employers, Title VII does. Thus, it raises serious questions about whether the EEOC will follow suit by taking inspiration from the new OPM memorandum.
In the past, the EEOC has issued guidance cautioning private-sector supervisors from engaging in religious expression that might reasonably appear coercive due to their supervisory role. The OPM’s memorandum, however, takes a different stance, explaining supervisors should not be treated any differently than non-supervisors on the basis of their workplace roles. It is expected this change of tune will work its way into the private sector sooner rather than later, whether it be through EEOC guidance or private employer policy changes attempting to mimic OPM guidance. Another possibility on the horizon could include whether the federal government issues similar requirements for all federal contractors, which would drastically increase the impact of expansion of religious expression. As with everything in the practice of law between different administrations, time will tell.
What Should Private Employers Do Next?
As these changes are implemented at the federal level, private employers should take a look in the mirror to see whether their current policies and procedures align with current guidance on religious expression in the workplace.
