FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS WRITES HOUSE COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF WORKPLACE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT

Today, in advance of a hearing by a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor on the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America wrote to committee members to express its strong support for the bipartisan legislation (“WRFA”, HR 1431)

Introduced by a bipartisan group of Representatives – led by Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Mark Souder (R-IN) – and supported by a broad and diverse coalition of more than 45 national faith organizations, WRFA will require employers to accommodate the religious observances of their employees as long as providing such accommodations will not impose an “undue hardship” upon the employer and the accommodation does not impair an employee from performing the “essential functions” of a job. Thus, employers would be encouraged to afford employees flexible work shifts so that they may observe religious holy days and permit employees to wear religiously required garb at work. Employers would also be encouraged to accommodate “conscience clause” objections by employees, so long as such accommodation does not adversely affect other employees or customers or clients of the employer.

In advance of the hearing, UOJCA public policy director Nathan Diament stated:

“We are pleased that the Education & Labor Committee is holding this hearing and we urge the committee to move WRFA to a mark-up as rapidly as possible. The passage of this bipartisan legislation is long overdue and will promote and protect the kind of religious freedom and diversity we cherish in the United States.”

More information about WRFA can be found at https://advocacy.ou.org:443/