Friend,

Yesterday, the Biden administration took an important step toward ending discrimination in the name of religion. 

It announced plans to rescind a Trump Department of Labor rule that would have allowed federal contractors to discriminate against workers and job applicants in the name of religion. 

In late 2020, the Trump administration did the bidding of religious extremists, and vastly expanded an already problematic religious exemption to a decades-old law barring employment discrimination by federal contractors. Trump’s policy made it easier for federal contractors to cite their religious beliefs in order to discriminate against LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities and the nonreligious. 
 

Americans United was a leader in fighting against this Trump policy from the day it was announced. And, in our 10-point Agenda to Restore & Protect Religious Freedom, we urged the Biden administration to revoke it. Yesterday they took action to do just that. 

This is an important victory for workers and religious freedom. No one should ever be turned away from a government-funded job because they can’t meet a religious test. 

The truth is that religious freedom is a fundamental American value that guarantees us the right to believe—or not—as we choose. But our laws cannot allow anyone to use their religious beliefs to harm or discriminate against others. We applaud President Biden’s administration for acting now. 

But there’s still a long list of Trump policies that need undoing. Each day, we continue to call on the Biden administration to take immediate action to rescind other policies, including Trump regulations that harm the religious freedom of people who use government-funded social services and regulations that allow healthcare providers to cite religious beliefs to deny people care—just to name a few. 

Friend, to support AU’s policy work to undo harmful Trump administration policies, click here to donate.

Thanks for being such a committed ally in this fight. Our work to undo harmful Trump policies and restore real religious freedom relies on your support.

Sincerely,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO