Published February 9, 2026
On February 9, 2026, EPPC Scholars Rachel N. Morrison and Eric Kniffin submitted a public comment in response to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) request for information (RFI) on addressing barriers to participation of faith organizations in DOL programs and funding. The RFI states that DOL is seeking information on how it can provide equal treatment and reasonable accommodations for faith organizations and “better engage qualified faith organizations to help deliver services, including job training, employment support, and community outreach, without undue restrictions on such organizations’ religious liberty.”
The scholars applauded DOL for its desire to identify and address barriers to participation by faith organizations. As the RFI recognized, faith organizations have “a long history of providing critical services … in a culturally competent and compassionate manner” and are “vital partners with important expertise, perspective, and ability to help advance DOL’s mission.”
The scholars’ comment provides suggestions of ways DOL can respect and promote religious liberty for faith organizations, including by:
- Rescinding and replacing problematic rules;
- Clarifying the scope of religious protections for federal contractors;
- Clarifying the scope of Title VII’s religious organization exemption for faith organizations;
- Clarifying religious protections for employer-sponsored health insurance;
- Creating a dedicated webpage and fact sheets with concise explanations of religious liberty protections for faith organizations; and
- Updating DOL’s webpage and guidance documents to reflect recent developments in religious liberty and religious autonomy law.
Other organizations also responded to the RFI with their own suggestions, including:
Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project, which advocates for an authentic understanding of the human person in the drafting, implementation, and rollback of government regulations.
