SW News: The Supreme Court of the United States decided to hear a lawsuit that would stipulate to what extent employers can accommodate the religious beliefs of their staff. This is one of the eight new cases that the court will hear this year.

This case is all about the lawsuit filed by Gerald Groff, a former mail deliverer in Pennsylvania, against the US Postal Service which ordered him to work on Sundays. However, he objected to it, citing his Christian faith and the need to dedicate that day to worship. Groff stepped down in 2019.

As per federal law, firms have to make provisions for their employees’ religious beliefs as long as it does not become an “undue hardship”. Way back in 1977, the Supreme Court had defined it as anything having more than a “de minimis”, which means a trivial cost. It enables employers to desist from making accommodations in several situations.

Citing that the “de minimis” benchmark is not present in the federal statute, several Supreme Court judges have raised an objection. "It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of religion," said Kelly Shackelford, president and chief counsel for First Liberty, which is a legal company that is representing Groff. "It’s time for the Supreme Court to reconsider a decades-old case that favors corporations and the government over the religious rights of employees."

According to Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, "Personal religious practice is rightly protected by Title VII and the Constitution." However, she added that those protections are "not without limits." She expressed hope that the apex court would underscore that religious freedom is not a justification to harm co-workers.

Last November, the Biden administration informed the court that there was only one other mail carrier in the rural area served by Groff on Sunday to deliver packages. The postmaster "explained that attempting to find coverage for the petitioner each Sunday was 'time-consuming' and an added burden for him and other postmasters in the region." This was the explanation given by the administration in its briefing.

A US District Court had ruled that exempting Groff from delivering packages on Sundays would cause unnecessary hardship for USPS. That verdict was upheld by the US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia last year.