{"id":10545,"date":"2025-09-30T13:15:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=10545"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:15:02","slug":"doj-says-remote-work-may-be-religious-accommodation","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/doj-says-remote-work-may-be-religious-accommodation\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ says remote work may be religious accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Robert S. Teachout<\/strong>, SHRM-SCP<\/strong>, Brightmine Legal Editor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a memorandum opinion<\/a> explaining how the use of remote work<\/a> can be used as religious accommodation in certain situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo was issued in response to an inquiry by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)<\/a> asking if situational telework may be an appropriate religious accommodation for religious practice in light of President Trump’s “return to in-person work” directive for federal employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the DOJ explained that the president’s directive does not preclude the appropriate use of remote work on a temporary basis for an “employee’s religious observance or practice.” The agency’s stance also aligns with Trump’s Executive Order (EO No. 13798) directing the Attorney General to “issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law” to “guide all agencies in complying with relevant Federal law.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circumstances that could warrant the telework include an employee’s observance of a religious holiday, such as Yom Kippur, Good Friday or Eid al-Fitr, for which an observant employee’s beliefs might require them not to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOJ’s memo notes that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n