Religious Accommodation: SCOTUS Raises Employer Standard for Undue Hardship

religious accommodation

 

Q: I heard there’s a new ruling that makes it harder for employers to deny an employee’s request for religious accommodation. What has changed?

A: The Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 29, 2023, that heightened the standard for employers attempting to prove “undue hardship” on their business when denying an employee’s request for religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In Groff v. Dejoy, the court announced that employers claiming the religious accommodation would result in undue hardship must show they would incur substantial difficulty or costs to implement the employee’s request.

The suit was brought by a former US Postal Service employee who, as an evangelical Christian, believes that Sunday should be devoted to worship and rest. He resigned after receiving “progressive discipline” for declining to work on Sundays when the USPS began delivering Sunday packages for Amazon.

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