San Diego (special) -- Civilian employees of the federal government have the right to attempt to proselytize their colleagues at the workplace under a directive issued last week by President Bill Clinton -- but the proselytization must stop if the other worker objects.

Marc Stern, legal director for the American Jewish Congress, said the guideline recognizes that members of some Christian sects believe it is their religious obligation to spread the Gospel. At the same time, he said, the guideline acknowledges that people have the right to avoid religious harassment.

"What the guidelines do is recognize both rights," said Stern, who helped to draft the document. "Yes, people have a right to talk about their religion, even to invite people to share their religious views with them. But it recognizes as well a right to ask people to desist. So there is a balancing."

In a telephone interview from Washington, Stern told HERITAGE that he and Steve McFarlane, legal director of the Christian Legal Society, drew up the guidelines in a full-day session about 18 months ago, and that their document was reviewed by other religious groups and by government lawyers before finally being submitted to the President for his approval.

If a Jewish federal worker were to ask his or her Christian colleague to stop proselytizing, and that person refused, "then they should go to the supervisor or the personnel department and say 'Look, I asked him to stop; it is making me very uncomfortable, it is hard for me to function. I listened to him, I heard him out once; that's all he is entitled to, and now I ask him to stop,'" Stern said. "Under the guidelines, the supervisors at some appropriate level have to do that."

Stern said another feature of the guidelines is a firm indication by President Clinton that he wants supervisors of federal employees to interpret regulations in favor of accommodating religious practices, rather than trying to find reasons to refuse such accommodation.

As an example, Stern cited scheduling Jewish employees off for the High Holy Days and for Passover as well as for Shabbat. While the guidelines don't guarantee such days off, they urge supervisors to grant them whenever possible. Asked when those days off might not be possible, Stern said there may be situations when a person's expertise is absolutely required on that particular day.

"There aren't a whole lot of those jobs in the federal government but there are some," he said. "The ordinary guy who goes and reviews paper work for the federal government or processes applications or insures compliance by looking at documents: it doesn't really matter if he is there Friday afternoon or late Wednesday to make up the hours."

Another aspect of the guidelines states it is permissible for federal employees to wear religious garb (such as yarmulkes), or religious jewelry (such as Stars of David) without such dress being interpreted as the government endorsing a religion.

Additionally, the guidelines permit such private expressions of religion as religious posters, a Bible, or other religious literature being kept at a person's work station.

On the other hand, the guidelines strictly prohibit federal employees from disseminating religious messages to members of the public. "If you are a postal clerk, you can't say 'here are your stamps and here is a tract-- whether it is a religious tract or an anti-religious tract."

At a press briefing at the White House, presidential press secretary Mike McCurry was asked whether "atheists and agnostics will be able to express their views."

"They would be covered by these guidelines," McCurry replied.

At the Aug. 14 ceremony to announce the regulations, Clinton made a point of thanking Stern, McFarlane and several others for their work on the guidelines, including Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Committee of the Reform movement.

"Today I'm instructing the Office of Personnel Management to distribute these guidelines to all civilian branch agencies and officials," Clinton said. "And we expect all employees to follow them carefully. What we accomplish here together today shows what can be done to protect religious freedom within the bounds of our Constitution when people of goodwill and faith come together."

Stern said the guidelines did not address the military because "They are interested in uniformity, discipline and the ability to work together as a cohesive team and while these principles might generally apply most of the time, it is a significantly different enough environment that we civilians really didn't feel comfortable ... on this point.

"I think the military could with profit look at these guidelines but to say that these ought to be the rules for the military is something we are reluctant to do without a great deal more knowledge about how the military works than most civilians have."

Following the President's announcement, Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon issued a statement saying the Pentagon has a policy laying out "how religious practices can be accommodated by the military."

For example, he said, "A woman who is a Pentecostal Christian asked if she could be allowed to wear a skirt at all times in compliance with her religious beliefs. She was told she could not because it would interfere with her ability to carry out her duties."

On the other hand, Bacon said, "A Moslem man asked if he could be exempted from eating in dining halls because pork was prepared in the mess halls, and if separate arrangements could be made for him. Separate arrangements were made for him."

Bacon said the Defense Department also has "created kosher field rations, kosher Meals Ready to Eat to accommodate dietary laws. So there is a process."

"Basically what happens if a soldier (or other armed forces personnel) needs to request a variance from the uniform rules, or dining rules, or any rules or procedure, he or she makes a request to the commander," the spokesman said.

"The commander can rule on the request and if the soldier...doesn't like the answer, it is appealed up through the chain of command until it reaches what's called the Armed Forces Chaplains' Board which oversees the regulation of religious practices in the military. They can make a final ruling on the dress request or whatever it is."