Jack Lord Offers Insight on OFCCP Rescission of Religious Exemption for Federal Contractors

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Jack Lord is quoted in the Human Resources Director article, “Trump rule on religious exemption for federal contractors rescinded,” discussing the reasoning behind the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) rescission of a Trump administration rule that protected federal contractors from anti-discrimination laws regarding religion.

“It’s pretty clear that, politically speaking, the Trump rule was to help certain companies avoid certain Equal Employment Opportunity requirements related to sexual orientation and gender identity,” Lord said. He explained that the reasoning behind the move to rescind the 2020 rule is to “put things back the way they were, in which certain companies that are religiously focused can’t make certain objections.”

The new rule will go into effect on March 31.