56 SEPTEMBER 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL supervisor. As highlighted in the travel voucher example above, in several cases, supervisors had an inadequate understanding of the law and the department’s policy on this issue. They also lacked significant understanding of their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. In one real-world example, a member of JAD requested a day off to observe a lesser-known Jewish holiday. His supervisor told him: “I researched this, and only a very small percentage of Jews celebrate this holiday, so unfortunately, you’ll have to work.” Although the supervisor’s comments and actions were clearly inconsistent with EEO law, because the department’s policies at that time were unclear regarding requests for religious accommodation, the employee had little recourse to rectify the situation, outside filing an EEO complaint. To remedy this and other similar situations, GRACE, JAD, and AMFAS worked together to help draft and clear a new department regulation in the Foreign Affairs Manual—3 FAM 1530—to ensure a fair process for religious accommodation requests. The revised FAM chapter was published in October 2023. Key to this effort was the cooperation among the three religious EOs. Together, they collaborated, researched relevant laws, and consulted with the offices of Diversity and Inclusion, Civil Rights, and the Legal Adviser. They then approached the Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM) with one voice. After the EOs shared common concerns and contributed to the draft of the new FAM chapter, the department published the new policy and then announced it through a department notice and an ALDAC cable. This was a significant win, not only for people of faith but also for the religious EOs, which, after once being told they could not exist, now have their voices heard by department leadership and are making positive changes for the workforce. The new FAM chapter on religious accommodation states that frontline supervisors may approve religious accommodation requests, but denials of religious accommodation requests may only come from bureau Executive Office (EX) directors, and decisions must be made “as soon as practical.” Denials from bureau EX directors must be in writing, with an explanation based on objective standards. Even so, employees maintain the right to appeal the denial through the EEO process. The new steps outlined in the FAM add more accountability to the process, bring the State Department’s policy closer in adherence to federal law, and afford greater protections for employees to live out their beliefs. Abiding by Key Tenets Employees’ right to religious expression in the workplace is derived from the First Amendment to the Constitution. Those rights, including the right to free speech and religious expression, do not disappear simply because one chooses to work for the federal government. In fact, the federal workplace, primarily comprising people who have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution, should be the one workplace in America where an individual’s constitutional rights are most protected. The respect for employees’ religious freedom is also a critical part of the department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. People of faith who work for State should feel included and valued—not in spite of their faith but because of it. No one should feel as if expressing their faith at work would be a source of exclusion. The department’s DEIA tenets consistently emphasize the need for the department’s workforce to “look like America.” According to a 2022 survey on Statista, 74 percent of the U.S. population identifies with some religious belief. Of those, 41 percent regularly attend religious services. Broadening State’s religious diversity, including affirmative measures to include and celebrate our religious colleagues, is crucial to meeting our DEIA goals and makes the department more representative of the people we serve. Raising Awareness Although the FAM revision was a significant step toward greater inclusion and tolerance of religious faith in the workplace, the next step is to raise awareness. The three faith-based EOs are again sharing in this work and doing it both formally and informally. Informally, their members are unapologetically being their authentic selves and simply being more open about faith at work. Even the mere existence of the three employee organizations is a tangible sign of greater acceptance of religious diversity. In particular, the department’s formal recognition of employee organizations based on religion sends a clear signal In 2018, GRACE received formal recognition by State and opened the door for the formation of other faith-based groups.
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