Sponsors (26)
The bill prioritizes preservation of nondiscrimination, healthcare access, and worker protections by narrowing the availability of RFRA defenses—strengthening rights and services for many Americans while reducing religious‑liberty defenses and raising compliance, funding, and litigation risks for faith‑based entities and some contractors.
People protected by federal civil‑rights and nondiscrimination laws (including recipients of federal programs) keep those protections when someone asserts a RFRA defense, preserving equal access to government benefits, services, and protections.
Employees who work for employers or contractors that receive federal funds retain entitlement to wages, benefits (including leave), and collective‑activity protections despite asserted religious objections.
Patients retain access to and coverage for health care items and services even when a provider or health‑care entity asserts a RFRA defense.
Religious organizations and individuals lose RFRA defenses in many contexts, increasing their exposure to litigation, compliance obligations, and potential liability.
Faith‑based providers and other contractors that receive federal funds may need to change services or risk losing federal contracts or grants if they cannot comply with nondiscrimination or healthcare obligations.
Employers and contractors receiving federal funds—including small businesses—may face higher compliance costs and increased liability when religious objections are not treated as exemptions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Carves out federal civil-rights, disability, labor, VAWA, child-protection, healthcare access, and federal funding terms from RFRA claims and limits RFRA suits to cases with a government defendant.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress March 6, 2025
Creates an explicit exception to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act so RFRA cannot be used to block or weaken certain federal protections that prevent harm to others. The exception covers federal civil-rights and equal-opportunity laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Violence Against Women Act protections, worker wage/benefit and collective-activity obligations, child-protection laws, access to and coverage for health care, terms of federal contracts and grants that fund services to program beneficiaries, and other similar federal protections. Also limits RFRA’s private cause of action by clarifying that RFRA relief is available only in judicial proceedings in which a government is a party and to obtain relief against that government — preventing RFRA from being used as a standalone private lawsuit to override the listed federal protections.