Overview

• On Wednesday the Office of Personnel Management instructed agencies to permit federal workers to observe religious fasts or prayers through telework or altered hours.
• President Trump’s January mandate requiring five-day in-office attendance remains in effect but now includes specified faith-based exceptions.
• Agencies that decline a religious accommodation request must document evidence of a substantial operational disruption according to OPM Director Scott Kupor.
• This guidance follows earlier OPM exemptions for military spouses under the administration’s campaign to enforce full-time office returns.
• Nearly half of the civilian federal workforce was eligible for partial remote work under Biden-era policies, highlighting the breadth of the shift back to office attendance.