Skip to main content
S 1668 106th Congress Senate

Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1999

Official title: A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to establish provisions with respect to religious accommodation in employment, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 9, 2000 See on congress.gov
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues Discrimination in employmentFlexible work hoursHours of laborLabor and Employment
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Leave of absenceOvertimeReligionReligion in the workplaceReligious libertySeniority in employmentShift systems
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 106th Congress ended
It never became law before the 106th Congress (1999–2000) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 29, 1999
Read twice and referred to the Committee on HELP.
Sep 29, 1999
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11647)
Sep 29, 1999
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action September 29, 1999

Read twice and referred to the Committee on HELP.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1999 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of "religion" to include all aspects of religious observance, practice, and belief unless, after initiating and engaging in an affirmative and bona fide effort, an employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate a religious observance or practice without undue hardship (action requiring significant difficulty or expense) on the conduct of the employer's business.

Prohibits deeming an accommodation by the employer reasonable if the accommodation does not remove the conflict between employment requirements and the religious observance or practice. Excludes, in certain circumstances, a defense that the accommodation would be in violation of a seniority system. Prohibits requiring payment of premium wages for work performed during hours to which premium wages would ordinarily be applicable if work is performed during those hours only to accommodate religious requirements of an employee.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 4237 Identical bill Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2000
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Murray, Patty
Washington · May 9, 2000
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1668: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1999. 106th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/106-S-1668/
MLA
"S. 1668: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1999." 106th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/106-S-1668/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1668, 106th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/106-S-1668/.
Markdown link
[S. 1668: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1999](https://openamerica.io/bill/106-S-1668/)
Report a problem