WASHINGTON — In a seemingly significant expansion of religious liberty protections for federal workers at the workplace, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued new guidance this morning outlining the rights of federal employees to express their religious beliefs at work. The memorandum, titled “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace”, was circulated by OPM Director Scott Kupor to all heads of federal departments and agencies.
The guidance underscores the administration’s commitment to ensuring that employees can display religious items at their desks, engage in prayer groups during off-duty hours, invite coworkers to religious services, and speak about their beliefs—even in the presence of the public—without fear of reprisal. Director Kupor stated, “Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career. This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths.”
The memo reflects President Trump’s ongoing emphasis on religious freedom across federal institutions. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined,” Kupor added.
Official Portrait of OPM Director Scott Kupor [OPM : Public Domain
Background and Legal Framework
Today’s guidance builds on a July 16, 2025, memo that encouraged federal agencies to accommodate religious observances through flexible work arrangements. That earlier directive cited the 2023 Supreme Court decision Groff v. DeJoy, which reaffirmed that employers must accommodate religious practices unless doing so imposes an undue hardship on operations.
The July memo advised that agencies should consider telework as a reasonable accommodation for Sabbath or holiday observance, fasting, prayer, and other religious obligations. Agencies were urged to engage in good-faith efforts to craft individualized accommodations, such as combining telework with maxiflex schedules. It also highlighted the federal provision for religious compensatory time off, allowing employees to work overtime before or after a religious observance in exchange for time off.
The memo distinguishes between personal religious expression (protected) and speech made pursuant to official duties (not protected). Employees acting in an official capacity remain subject to discipline if their expression suggests official endorsement of a faith. Furthermore, though the memo presents a strong tone and expanded examples, the core protections rest on longstanding legal principles dating to Clinton-era guidance (1997) and Supreme Court precedent. The memo reinforces and reasserts those rights, rather than creating entirely new ones.
Seal of the United States Office of Personnel Management [Public Domain
Expanded Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace
Today’s memo formalizes and extends those principles. It spells out that employees may:
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Display Religious Items: Religious articles such as Bibles, crucifixes, mezuzahs, religious artwork, posters, and jewelry may be kept at desks or worn in personal workspaces. Such displays should not be removed based solely on “hypothetical or potential concerns.”
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Pray and Gather Off-Duty: Employees are allowed to engage in individual or group religious expressions—including prayer groups—during breaks, before or after shifts, and in non-duty settings. These activities must be treated equally with other forms of personal expression.
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Invite Participation: Federal employees may invite colleagues to join religious events or services. For instance, a supervisor may post a note on an employee bulletin board inviting staff to an Easter service.
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Address the Public: The guidance extends to employee interactions with the public. Kupor provided examples such as a National Park ranger joining a tour group in prayer or a Veterans Affairs doctor praying over a patient. However, when acting in their official capacity, employees’ speech may still be subject to certain limitations to prevent the impression of official endorsement of religion. That is, employees acting pursuant to their duties remain subject to employer discipline.
Perhaps most concerning and most notable is that the new memo explicitly permits religious discussions that may include attempts to persuade coworkers. Federal workers are now permitted to engage in religious conversations. Workers may speak to coworkers about their faith, even attempting to persuade them, so long as conversations are respectful and cease if the other party objects. Kupor emphasized that even supervisors have the same constitutional protections for personal conversations.
Limitations and Compliance
It is important to note, however, that despite the sweeping language, Kupor’s guidance reiterates some existing limits to religious proselytizing in federal workplaces. Agencies are still expected to intervene when religious expression becomes harassing or when it leads to specific complaints. As with earlier Department of Labor rules, religious dialogue must end if a listener expresses discomfort.
Agencies are also directed to document their processes when evaluating religious accommodations to ensure compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. They are advised to use a case-by-case approach that may involve hybrid solutions.
Presumably, all traditions are covered under the protections of Title VII and apply broadly to all religions, including non‑traditional beliefs and non-belief. Notably, though, Kupor’s guidance relies heavily on Christian and Jewish examples, including Bibles, crosses, Easter services, and the Star of David. There is no mention of accommodations for other religious traditions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Paganism.
Kupor explained that agencies “may restrict all posters, but an agency may not single out religious posters, such as those of a crucifix, a Bible verse, or a Star of David, for harsher treatment.” The memo also notes that “an employee may wear a cross, as well as clothing displaying a religious message,” reaffirming protections for attire linked to religious identity.
While not a complete departure from past policies, this guidance significantly reaffirms and extends the rights of federal workers to integrate faith into their daily professional lives. By explicitly outlining the types of permissible conduct—such as group prayer, symbolic displays, and religious invitations—the memo may open the door to broader public displays of faith in federal buildings.
Some observers have raised questions about how consistently these policies will be applied across diverse religious traditions and whether federal workplaces will remain neutral in practice. For now, however, the Trump administration is clear in its direction: religious expression is not just tolerated in the federal workplace—it is protected and, within reason, encouraged.
As Kupor put it, “The Founders established a Nation in which people were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by their government.” Today’s memo is the latest in a series of steps to institutionalize that vision.
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