Seeking a consensus to overhaul federal job training programs, Congress will leave intact a religious hiring ban as it reauthorizes the program–even though faith-based organizations often provide valuable and unique job training programs. But the Religious Freedom Restoration Act makes it possible for religious organizations that consider religion in hiring to participate in federal programs that ban religious hiring, under some circumstances.

When the House of Representatives considered the reauthorization bill, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, on July 9, 2014, Chairman John Kline (R-MN) of the Education and the Workforce Committee placed into the Congressional Record this statement about the matter:

“Madam Speaker, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act maintains without change from the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 a nondiscrimination requirement. The requirement not only prohibits participating organizations from discriminating against those who need job training assistance, but it also requires faith-based organizations to stop considering religion when hiring staff as the price of partnering with the federal government to help these job seekers.

“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) prohibits the government from substantially burdening religious exercise. RFRA applies to every federal law, and it protects the right of religious hiring, notwithstanding the restrictive language we just affirmed. This specific use of RFRA is explained in an extensive Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memorandum dated June 29, 2007.

“This use of RFRA to protect religious hiring by religious organizations even when a federal grant program prohibits it was recently reaffirmed by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVAW) of the Department of Justice. In reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) last year, Congress inserted into the law a broad nondiscrimination requirement such as the one we maintain in today’s workforce bill. On April 9, 2014, OVAW issued ”Frequently Asked Questions” about [the VAWA] non- discrimination requirement. In Q and A 6, OVAW explained the OLC memorandum on RFRA’s applicability and set out the way a religious organization that engaged in religious hiring may take part in VAWA-funded services despite the addition of the nondiscrimination requirement.

“Q and A 6 further includes a link to a long- standing Department of Justice form, the Certificate of Exemption for Hiring Practices on the Basis of Religion, used by religious organizations to appeal under RFRA to participate in DOJ programs.

“The religious hiring freedom is a vital freedom for religious organizations. Therefore I am pleased to stress this important protection found in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Congressional Record, July 9, 2014, H5971.