On December 29, 2022, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), entitled Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes, which proposes to restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination.
In 2019, OCR issued a regulation that provided broad definitions, created new compliance regulations, and created a new enforcement mechanism for a number of statutes related to the conscience rights of certain federally funded healthcare entities and providers. The 2019 Final Rule was held unlawful by three federal district courts. In light of these court decisions, and consistent with the Administration’s commitment to safeguard the rights of federal conscience and religious nondiscrimination while protecting access to care, this NPRM proposes to partially rescind the Department’s 2019 rule while reinforcing other processes previously in place for the handling of conscience and religious freedom complaints.
Public comments on the NPRM are due 60 days after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.
“No one should be discriminated against because of their religious or moral beliefs, especially when they are seeking or providing care,” said Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The proposed rule strengthens protections for people with religious or moral objections while also ensuring access to care for all in keeping with the law.”
The NPRM may be viewed here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant for employment or admission or an employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. Unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer’s operation of its business, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures to ensure prevention of any type of discrimination, including religious discrimination. Revise policies and procedures if needed.
- Train staff about their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace. Teach staff to report any concerns of discrimination against themselves, their co-workers, or other individuals to their immediate supervisor, the compliance officer, or through the facility’s hotline.
- Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they are experiencing discrimination or have observed it happening to others. Ask if they feel free to report such instances without fear of retaliation or retribution. Also periodically audit to learn if any individuals were denied care or admission in violation of the law.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
