Will Manuel Quoted in Law360 on What Employers Should Expect as GOP Congress Ramps Up

Bradley attorney Will Manuel was quoted in Law360 on what employers should expect as the Republican-majority Congress gears up, including the introduction of bills that would undercut certain employment practices and programs by imposing restrictions on employers that receive federal funding.

Another mission that experts anticipate Republican lawmakers will rally behind is the expansion of religious exemptions to civil rights laws, a movement that's already underway in the judiciary.

“If somebody sits down and says alright, let's really think about what we're going to do, I think it'll be religious exemptions, things where you've already gotten momentum from the courts,” said Manuel.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., are among a coalition that introduced the Do No Harm Act, which aims to keep courts from further strengthening the RFRA and to “protect religious exercise while ensuring religious freedom is not used to erode civil rights protections.”

While the Democrats’ bill has virtually no chance of passing this Congress, Manuel said there are decent odds their Republican counterparts will be able to gain steam in the opposite direction.

“The one thing I do think they'll get real traction on is the religious exemption issues,” Manuel concluded.

The full article, “ What Employers Should Expect As GOP Congress Ramps Up,” was published by Law360 on March 6, 2025.