Trump Planning Regulation to Allow Federal Contractors to Fire LGBTQ Workers for Religious Reasons

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Trump Planning Regulation to Allow Federal Contractors to Fire LGBTQ Workers for Religious Reasons

Back in August, a directive issued by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) broadly expanded the rights of businesses with federal contracts to raise a ‘religious exemption’ if they’re accused of discrimination.

Now, the Trump administration plans to go further, Buzzfeed News reports: “The Trump administration is currently planning to create a formal religious-liberty regulation for businesses with federal contracts, which would create a loophole in an Obama administration policy protecting LGBT workers, according to several people familiar with the Labor Department’s plans who spoke to BuzzFeed News. Unlike the August directive, a regulation would carry more legal force and is tremendously difficult to undo. It is unclear if the regulation will limit its scope to strictly religious corporations — for instance, a Jewish charity with a federal contract. The directive refers to the Supreme Court’s decisions in Hobby Lobby and Masterpiece Cakeshop, which concerned closely held, for-profit businesses with religious owners, not religious corporations.”

“OFCCP plans to update its regulations to comply with current law regarding protections for religion-exercising organizations,” says a notice on the Office of Management and Budget’s website.

When Trump took office he promised to honor a 2014 Obama executive honor protecting federal workings from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Shocker, he didn’t.

The post Trump Planning Regulation to Allow Federal Contractors to Fire LGBTQ Workers for Religious Reasons appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.