by the Jewish News Syndicate
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of the evangelical postal worker Gerald Groff in Groff v DeJoy on June 29. Associate Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the court’s opinion, clarified that employers must accommodate employees’ religious needs unless there is an “undue hardship” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
A previous standard, under the court’s 1977 decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v Hardison held that employers could refuse workers’ requests to avoid working on their Sabbath since that posed more than a much lower, de minimis burden.
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Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, stated that the decision is “a powerful victory for religious liberty.” Previously, he added, “Orthodox Jews were denied accommodations when work schedules could easily have been rearranged.”
From Jewish News Syndicate, also published in St. Louis Jewish Light.
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