The US Supreme Court has reinstated the discrimination lawsuit of Gerald Groff, a Christian postal worker from Pennsylvania who quit his job after facing backlash for refusing to work on Sundays.
Groff, an evangelical Christian, filed the lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 2019, alleging that he was forced to resign after receiving warnings and suspensions for his refusal to work on Sundays in order to observe the Sabbath.
Groff, 45, claimed that the USPS discriminated against him by failing to approve his religious accommodation request to be exempted from Sunday shifts.
The high court, in its ruling, stated that workplaces are obligated to provide accommodations to religious workers unless such modifications would cause significant difficulty or expense to the business.
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The Supreme Court's decision emphasized that companies can no longer evade religious accommodations by demonstrating only minimal negative effects on their operations.
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The case, which had been dismissed by a lower court, will now be sent back to a federal appeals court for further consideration based on the Supreme Court's clarification of the relevant case law.
The appeals court will assess the merits of Groff's lawsuit in light of the new guidance provided by the Supreme Court.
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According to Groff's federal lawsuit, he had been working as a mailman at the Holtwood, Pennsylvania Post Office since 2012 without any issues regarding Sunday shifts until 2017, when the USPS began delivering packages for Amazon.
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During this time, a co-worker covered Groff's Sunday shifts until she was injured in December 2017. Groff then formally requested a religious accommodation, but the agency failed to provide a formal response and continued to schedule him for work on Sundays.
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In his suit, Groff detailed the disciplinary actions he faced, including a written warning on June 6, 2017, a one-week suspension on January 16, 2018, and a two-week suspension on October 9, 2018.
These penalties caused Groff significant anxiety and stress, according to his lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages.
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Expressing his gratitude for the Supreme Court's ruling, Groff stated, "I hope this decision allows others to be able to maintain their convictions without living in fear of losing their jobs because of what they believe."
Groff's attorney, Alan Reinach, hailed the decision as a victory for equal employment opportunity, stating, "The Supreme Court's decision today means employers will have to take seriously their obligation to adjust workplace rules and policies, including schedules, so that workers with faith commitments are not excluded from the workplace."
As of now, the office of the Postmaster General has not provided a comment on the Supreme Court's ruling.
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