Washington D.C., Aug 15, 2019 / 15:00 pm
The Department of Labor announced Wednesday that it is considering a new rule that would allow federal contractors who identify as religious to hire employees based on faith and religious practice.
The new policy would expand a Johnson-era executive order protecting the rights of religious employers with federal government contracts to hire from within their religious group.
The new proposal was announced Aug. 14. The Department of Labor said the new policy "clarifies the scope and applications of the religious exemption contained in section 204(c) of Executive Order 11246."
Executive Order 11246 forbids federal contractors from engaging in discriminatory hiring on the basis "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." An exemption for religious-based employers allowed them legally to hire only people of a certain faith if they so choose, but the executive order did not fully define as to what "religious-based" meant.