The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling that simplifies the process for employees to request religious accommodations. This decision was prompted by a lawsuit involving a mail carrier who identified as an evangelical Christian and objected to working on Sundays.
Gerald Groff, a devout Christian from Pennsylvania, filed the lawsuit, arguing that the U.S. Postal Service could have granted his request to be excused from Sunday shifts based on his religious belief that the day should be reserved for worship and rest.
As a result of the Supreme Court ruling, the case will now be sent back to lower courts to continue with further legal proceedings.
Groff asserted that employees encountered significant challenges when seeking religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on various factors, including religion.
In a unanimous decision led by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the justices provided further clarity on a 1977 Supreme Court ruling referred to as Trans World Airlines v. Hardison. The court ruled that employers are not obligated to offer accommodations if they result in only a minimal or “de minimis” burden, using the preferred Latin term of the court.
This decision is consistent with the language of Title VII, which specifies that an accommodation can be denied if it causes an “undue hardship” for the employer. Groff, who worked as an auxiliary mailman in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area from 2012 to 2019, decided to resign from his position. As a non career employee, his responsibilities included filling in for other workers when they were unavailable, which sometimes involved working on weekends and holidays.
At first, Groff was not obligated to work on Sundays. However, the circumstances changed in 2015 when a new policy was implemented, mandating the delivery of Amazon packages on that day. In response to Groff’s request for an accommodation, his managers made arrangements for other postal workers to handle Sunday package deliveries until July 2018. However, disciplinary measures were taken against Groff if he did not show up for work on Sundays after that period.
