EEOC celebrates 200 days of protecting religious freedom under Trump

By Tate Miller
The Center Square

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is celebrating the ways they’ve protected religious freedom in the workplace over Trump’s past 200 days in office.

“These efforts span multiple industries and issues, including Covid-19 vaccine mandates, religious accommodations in general, and rising antisemitism in higher education,” an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) news release said.

When reached for comment, the EEOC referred The Center Square to an interview EEOC acting chair Andrea Lucas had with the Daily Caller.

According to the news release, “the EEOC has recovered over $55 million for workers impacted by” COVID-19 vaccine mandates under the Biden administration.

For instance, the EEOC made settlements for those who lost their jobs by refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as filed lawsuits on behalf of those who were not given religious and disability-based exemptions to the shot.

The EEOC also resolved other various cases and incidents over the past 200 days involving religious discrimination, such as when The Venetian Resort Las Vegas “denied religious accommodations to employees of various faiths,” opposition to which resulted in discipline and even termination, it says.

For the sake of religious freedom, the EEOC sued a company that fired an employee for making faith-based social media posts on a personal account, filed a lawsuit against Marriott alleging it would not accommodate an employee’s request to observe the Sabbath, and settled incidents where women who held convictions to only wear skirts were forced to choose between their beliefs or their job.

Additionally, the EEOC has worked to combat antisemitism over the past 200 days, as evident in its resolution that Columbia University would pay $21 million “to settle EEOC charges” of violating Title VII.

The EEOC has made efforts to “[protect] federal employees’ religious rights” as well as to eradicate anti-Christian bias, with EEOC acting chair Andrea Lucas serving as a member of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias in the federal government.

Andrea Lucas said in the EEOC release: “Title VII recognizes the reality that religious freedom is a fundamental right that transcends workplace policies.”

“During the previous administration, workers’ religious protections too often took a backseat to woke policies,” Lucas said. “Under my leadership, the EEOC is restoring evenhanded enforcement of Title VII – ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paycheck and their faith.”

“Even when our work can’t yet make headlines because of Title VII’s strict confidentiality provisions, the EEOC is actively enforcing the law to ensure that workers can live out their faith without fear of discrimination or harassment,” Lucas said.

“These recent actions are just a glimpse of our ongoing efforts to protect religious liberty in every American workplace,” Lucas said.