ADF: Federal contractors have freedom to operate according to religious beliefs
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor regarding ADF comments submitted Monday in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s notice of proposed rulemaking. DOL’s proposed rule would clarify that religious organizations don’t relinquish their religious freedom when they serve as federal contractors:
“All Americans have the freedom to operate according to their religious beliefs, and those freedoms don’t disappear when a university, charity, or international nongovernmental organization enters into a contract with the federal government. ADF commends the Trump administration for crafting proposed regulations that both respect the fundamental right of religious exercise and clarify uncertainties that have hampered the participation of religious employers in federal government contracting. The proposed regulations rightly recognize that religious organizations maintain their character and effectiveness by drawing their workforces from among those who share their religious beliefs and codes of conduct. We also ask the administration to reverse President Obama’s unwarranted insertion of sexual orientation and gender identity into the rules governing federal contractors. All too often, such rules are used to punish disagreement or marginalize people of faith.”
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ABOUT Gregory S. Baylor
Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and senior counsel with the Center for Public Policy. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees. Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF.