1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Prohibiting Religious Exemption and Accommodations Databases Act”.
Prohibiting Religious Exemption and Accommodations Databases Act
A BILL
To prohibit agencies from maintaining or sharing information relating to religious affiliation, and for other purposes.
2. Sense of the Senate
It is the sense of the Senate that—
the freedoms of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, including the right to free exercise of religion, are among the pre-eminent blessings of liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and that religious freedom need not be sacrificed in service to our Government, but must be respected by law; and
immediate steps must be taken to prevent unwarranted dissemination of information on religious exemptions or accommodations sought or provided by or to any individual in conformance with principles of both section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”), in particular subsection (e)(7) of such section, as well as the guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on December 14, 2021.
3. Maintenance of information relating to religious accommodations
Amendments to the Privacy Act of 1974— Section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”) is amended—
in subsection (a)(7)—
by striking “means, with” and inserting
“(A) means, with”
in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by adding “and” at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) does not include the sharing, disclosure, or dissemination of information concerning a religious accommodation beyond the minimum necessary for the purpose;”
in subsection (c)(1)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), strike “except for disclosures made under subsections (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section,”;
in subparagraph (A), by striking “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (B), by adding “and” at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) a disclosure made under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) only if the disclosure concerns or describes how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, including as related to a religious accommodation under any Federal law;”
in subsection (o), by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no record relating to the religious affiliation of an individual that is contained in a system of records may be disclosed to a recipient agency or non-Federal agency for use in a computer matching program.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(x) Religious accommodation—For purposes of subsection (e)(7), an individual voluntarily requesting, or providing any information relating to, any religious accommodation, including to a COVID–19 vaccine requirement, shall not constitute an express authorization for an agency to maintain a record of any information related to the religious beliefs, identity, or affiliation of the individual.”
FOIA exemption— Section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Freedom of Information Act”) is amended—
in paragraph (8), by striking “or” at the end;
in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
“(10) related to the religious affiliation of an individual that is provided to or collected by an agency (as defined in section 552a(a) of this title), including for purposes of a religious accommodation to a COVID–19 vaccine requirement.”
Privacy of information— An agency (as defined in section 552a(a) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”)) that collects or is provided any information relating to the religious beliefs, identity, or affiliation of an individual for purposes of a religious accommodation, including to a COVID–19 vaccine requirement—
shall maintain and use the information—
in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the information and privacy of the individual to the maximum extent practicable; and
separate from any other record of an individual relating to a religious exemption or accommodation request; and
may not disclose the information with any person outside of the agency, including any other Federal or non-Federal agency or private organization.
Rule of construction— Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to impede or authorize a delay in the timely processing of a request made by an individual to an agency (as defined in section 552a(a) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”)) for a religious accommodation.