A former U.S. Postal Service employee has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive his lawsuit alleging the post office should have fulfilled his religious accommodation request for Sundays off, the organization representing the worker announced Aug. 23.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in May that the requested accommodation would have posed an undue hardship and therefore wasn’t required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Groff v. Dejoy, No. 21-1900 (3d Cir. May 25, 2022)).
According to the appeals court, the requirement to work Sundays stemmed from an agreement the Postal Service entered into to deliver Amazon packages. The employee was told he could swap shifts with co-workers to avoid working Sundays, but he wasn’t always able to find someone to take his shift. After failing to report for numerous shifts, he was disciplined.
Citing Supreme Court precedent, the 3rd Circuit noted that Title VII doesn’t require accommodations that require more than a “de minimis” cost. Because the requested time off “imposed on … co-workers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale,” the plaintiff’s requested schedule clearly exceeded that standard, the appeals court said.
The plaintiff, represented by First Liberty, has asked the Supreme Court to revisit that 1977 de minimis precedent and also requested it decide whether an employer may demonstrate undue hardship on a business merely by showing that the requested accommodation burdens the employee’s co-workers — rather than the business itself.
