Reading Room Document
Availability of Money Damages Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Section 3(c) of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which makes available "appropriate relief" in judicial proceedings against federal and state government entities, does not waive or abrogate the sovereign immunity of federal and state governments against the award of money damages. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/20301/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit