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OPM.gov / Policy / Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility / Workplace Rights Federal Agency Toolkit

U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) - Workplace Rights Federal Agency Toolkit

Background

The Biden-Harris Administration is firmly committed to combating discrimination in all its forms and educating the Federal workforce on countering related forms of bias and discrimination. The Biden-Harris Administration issued the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism in May 2023, which calls on the Federal government to take a broad array of actions to address Antisemitism, and it is developing the National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination. To support the strategies, OPM has created this toolkit and will facilitate learning sessions for agencies and federal employee unions on countering Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias and discrimination.

Toolkit - General Resources on Workplace Rights and Best Practices

The online resources, below, provide information on Federal employee rights in the workplace. This toolkit is a resource for all Federal employees and can be used as a reference when addressing religious discrimination in the workplace.

  • Combating Religious Discrimination: This document explains federal civil rights laws prohibiting religious discrimination and provides examples of conduct that may be civil rights violations. 
  • Title VI and Coverage of Religiously Identifiable Groups: A letter from Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez to the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education (September 2010) on Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s coverage of religiously identifiable groups.  

  • Religious Discrimination: This resource addresses potential violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is relates to prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of their religious beliefs, practices, or observances (or lack thereof). Religious discrimination can also include denying someone a reasonable accommodation when their religious belief, practice, or observance conflicts with an employment requirement, unless providing an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business. For additional general information on religious discrimination visit https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/fact-sheet-religious-discrimination. 
  • Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace:  This resource answers questions about Federal employment discrimination law as applied to religious dress and grooming practices and steps employers can take to meet their legal responsibilities in this area. 

  • Worker Empowerment: Many federal employees have the right to organize and be represented by labor unions. Federal employees represented by labor unions have negotiated grievance rights on various employment matters, including workplace discrimination. 
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