US Supreme Court justices appeared ready to bolster the ability of employees to obtain work accommodations for their religious practices in a case involving an evangelical Christian former mail carrier's discrimination claim against the US Postal Service
The nine justices heard oral arguments in an appeal by Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Pennsylvania who was disciplined by the Postal Service after repeatedly failing to show up for assigned work shifts on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath. While the justices signaled sympathy toward the issue of obtaining accommodations for religious reasons, they did not seem willing to automatically rule in Groff's favor.
Under Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion and other factors including race, sex and national origin, employers must make allowances for a worker's religious observance or practices unless that would cause the business "undue hardship." Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, defending the Postal Service for the administration, said she agreed in order to correct lower courts that are "led astray by that de minimis language."
Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor emphasized the impact on other workers, noting that Groff's job required him to work as needed on Sundays. "It seems concerning that you're told, in effect, you don't get Sunday off even though you're religious. The other guy next to you gets Sunday off because he's religious but his religion gives him a little more benefit," Kavanaugh said.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Supreme Court hears Christian postal worker’s religious claimThe Supreme Court will weigh an employment discrimination claim from an evangelical Christian mail carrier in a case that could force employers to do more to accommodate the religious practices of their workers.
Read more »
Supreme Court hears case of former postal worker who refused to work on SundaysThe Supreme Court is set to consider the plight of a Christian former postal worker who alleges the agency violated a federal civil rights law when it failed to accommodate his religious beliefs.
Read more »
Supreme Court may be open to another legal route to cancel student debtThere's another legal route Biden can use to cancel student debt, and the Supreme Court's latest move shows the justices could be open to it
Read more »
New York Stockpiling Abortion Pill as Legal Fight Heads for Supreme CourtThe nationwide rallies come after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened Friday to delay rule changes that would have limited the way the abortion drug mifepristone could be used and dispensed, to give itself more time to review the matter more thoroughly.
Read more »
Republicans scramble for winning message on abortion after Supreme Court’s ruling on RoePro-life activists said Republicans who attack the issue head-on win elections and those who ignore or avoid the issue lose because they allow opponents to define them.
Read more »
Iowa Supreme Court rejects Gov. Kim Reynolds’ move to dismiss public records suitThe court in a unanimous decision rejected Reynolds’ argument that her office wasn’t obligated to respond in a timely matter to record requests and that she could avoid the state’s open records law by simply ignoring the requests.
Read more »