A Republican senator is warning that a federal agency may be violating the First Amendment rights of employees with a new policy. On Tuesday, Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) shared with The Washington Stand a letter he had addressed to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding DOE-47, Reasonable Accommodation Requests

Records (89 FR 78854), a new policy requiring the agency to collect and store detailed information regarding requests for religious exemptions to various mandates.

According to the DOE, the new policy’s purpose is to “collect, maintain, and disseminate records on employees and applicants for employment who seek and receive medical and non-medical accommodations.” While much of the data collection would focus on accommodating varying disabilities, the DOE would also keep records on “Federal employees or applicants for employment requesting accommodation based on a ‘sincerely held’ religious belief, practice, or observance under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This system includes requests for a medical or religious accommodation.”

Lankford wrote to Ann Dunkin, the DOE’s senior agency official for privacy, to “express my strong opposition to the Department of Energy’s recent notice regarding the establishment of a new system of records…” Lankford warned that the new system “represents a grave violation of religious liberty as protected under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).”

While the senator did say that he understands the DOE’s “intent to manage accommodation requests effectively,” he warned that he is “deeply concerned that collecting detailed records on an individual’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices — alongside other personal and sensitive information — poses a significant threat to the privacy and religious freedoms of federal employees.” Lankford continued, “The federal government has an obligation to protect religious liberty, ensuring that individuals are not subject to unnecessary scrutiny or invasive data collection that could deter them from exercising their constitutionally protected rights.”

The new DOE policy also “risks creating an environment in which employees may feel compelled to disclose private details about their faith or religious practices in order to justify their accommodation requests,” Lankford warned, observing that such an environment “can lead to potential religious discrimination or bias in the workplace.”

He continued, “Furthermore, the inclusion of categories such as religious leaders’ contact information and details on specific religious practices only deepens the potential for abuse or misuse of this data.” Noting his “serious concerns” regarding religious liberty, Lankford asked the DOE “to reconsider the implementation of DOE-47 in its current form. I ask the Department to consider alternative ways to ensure reasonable accommodations are granted without compromising the privacy and religious liberties of federal employees.”