Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005
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.
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
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.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1407-1409)
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of "religion" for purposes of coverage under that Act by requiring employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees. Defines the term "perform the essential functions" to exclude practices having a temporary or tangential impact on an employee's ability to perform job functions, such as practices relating to clothing or taking time off work. Sets forth factors to consider in determining whether an accommodation causes undue hardship. Defines "employee" to require an ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
Requires removal of the conflict between employment requirements and the employee's religious practices in order for an accommodation to be considered reasonable.
Considers an employer's refusal to permit an employee's use of general leave to remove a religious conflict solely because the leave will be used to accommodate religious practices to be an unlawful employment practice.
States that the amendments made by this Act do not apply with respect to conduct occurring prior to enactment.
- Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 677: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-677/
"S. 677: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-677/.
S. 677, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-677/.
[S. 677: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-677/)