Case Weighs Religious Accommodation for Sunday Sabbath

​The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted a case that will shed light on what types of religious accommodations would be considered an excessive burden on employers. The court will hear the case during this term, but a date for oral arguments hasn't been set yet.

Background

Under federal law, employers must reasonably accommodate all aspects of an employee's religious observance or practice that can be accommodated without undue hardship on the employer's business.

Gerald Groff, a former postal worker, sued the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for failing to accommodate his religious practice. Groff is a Christian who observes a Sunday Sabbath.

In 2013, the USPS signed a contract to deliver packages for Amazon, including on Sundays. In 2016, the USPS and the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association entered a contract that established the process for scheduling employees for Sunday and holiday Amazon delivery. The USPS asked its rural carrier associates, like Groff, whether they wanted to work on Sundays and holidays. Based on their responses, the USPS created two lists: volunteers and nonvolunteers. For Sundays and holidays, the USPS first scheduled assistant rural carriers. If this was insufficient, management then scheduled from the volunteer list on a rotating basis. If more coverage was needed, management would schedule from the nonvolunteer list on a rotating basis.

After the contract went into effect, the local postmaster informed Groff that he would have to deliver packages on the Sundays when he was scheduled or find another job. Groff then transferred to a different post office location, which had not yet implemented Amazon Sunday deliveries. But in 2017, that location began delivering on Sundays. For a while, management scheduled an extra person to work on the Sundays when Groff was scheduled. But in July 2018, management stopped doing so. As a result, Groff faced progressive discipline, including a written warning and two suspensions, when he did not report for work on his scheduled Sundays.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that exempting Groff from Sunday deliveries caused undue hardship because it negatively impacted Groff's co-workers, who were asked to fill in for him on Sundays, and it may require the USPS to violate a collectively bargained agreement.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ruled that the accommodation constituted an undue hardship because it disrupted workflow and diminished employee morale. Groff missed at least 24 scheduled Sunday shifts and resigned in January 2019, according to court documents.

Employer Obligations

To prove religious discrimination under federal law, employees must show they hold a sincere religious belief that conflicts with a job requirement, informed their employer of the conflict and were disciplined for failing to comply with the conflicting job requirement.

If that's proven, the burden shifts to the employer to show it made a good-faith effort to reasonably accommodate the religious belief, or that such an accommodation would place an undue hardship on the business. Undue hardship under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been defined by courts as imposing more than ordinary administrative costs or burdens on the operation of the employer's business, noted Aaron Gelb, an attorney with Conn Maciel Carey in Chicago. Examples of undue hardship include the cost of hiring an additional worker, paying a significant amount of overtime or the significant loss of productivity.

In making an undue-hardship determination, "employers will want to consider the cost to the company and whether the accommodation will impose a direct threat to others," said Tracey Diamond, an attorney with Troutman Pepper in Princeton, N.J., and Philadelphia.

A religious accommodation for observing Sabbath could apply to a number of different religions. For example, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons and Orthodox Jews are prohibited from working on the Sabbath.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that the definition of "religion" extends to traditional religions as well as religious beliefs that are "new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, only subscribed to by a small number of people, or that seem illogical or unreasonable to others."

Examples of reasonable religious accommodations include scheduling changes, voluntary shift substitutions, job reassignments, modifying the company dress code or grooming policy, or designating a private location in the workplace where a religious observance can occur. Using paid vacation or unpaid leave could be an accommodation for observing the Sabbath.