The Supreme Court appeared to agree on the need to clarify a long-standing rule for when U.S. employers must accommodate the religious practices of employees but stopped short of suggesting a former USPS letter carrier deserves his job back.
April 18, 2023, 3:45 PMGerald Groff of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, resigned as a Postal Service letter carrier in 2019 after his boss would not excuse him from Sunday shifts to observe the Sabbath.The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared to agree on the need to clarify a long-standing rule for when U.S. employers mustof employees but stopped short of suggesting a former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier deserves his job back.
The Postal Service has said Groff's absences created a significant burden on his coworkers and business operations -- especially during the peak holiday delivery season at his rural Pennsylvania post office -- harming morale and driving several staff to resign or relocate. The Supreme Court interpreted that standard 46 years ago in the case TWA v. Hardison to mean anything more than a "de minimis cost" on business operations. It's a very low bar that religious freedom advocates say discriminates against people of faith.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested that changes in morale or staffing that might follow from a religious accommodation -- though difficult to quantify -- would also need to be considered. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was perhaps least sympathetic to Groff's arguments, suggesting the court should defer to the letter of the law and leave it to lower courts to continue interpreting the standard on their own.
Several of the Court's conservatives also flashed uneasiness with going too far in their decision. Kavanaugh appeared uncomfortable with a ruling that would broadly expand religious freedom at the expense of an employer's bottom line.
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