Religion in the Public Workplace: A Primer for Public Employers

Abstract

Today, public organizations face an increasing challenge of accommodating workplace religious expression by their employees. This article examines the impact of First Amendment workplace religious expression jurisprudence on workplace religious expression by public employees. The article also discusses the impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, on the workplace religious expression rights of public employees. The article argues that the complexity of public workplace religious expression jurisprudence may make it difficult for public employers to understand the workplace religious rights of their employees and their rights to regulate the workplace religious practices of their employees to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. The article also argues that public organizations have the capacity to embrace the workplace religious diversity of their employees as part of more extensive efforts to enhance the diversity of their public organizations. Finally, the article analyzes the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. (2022) on the workplace religious rights of public employees.