Groff v. DeJoy (U.S.)
Gerald Groff is an Evangelical Christian whose religious beliefs require him to refrain from working on Sunday, a sabbath day devoted to worship and rest. Although his work delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service initially did not involve Sunday work, that changed after USPS began facilitating Sunday deliveries for Amazon. Groff eventually resigned after being disciplined for failing to work on Sundays, and then sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The lower courts ruled in favor of USPS, concluding that it could not have accommodated Groff’s religious practice “without undue hardship on the conduct of [its] business.” The Third Circuit interpreted the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison to mean that more than a “de minimis cost” to the employer is an undue hardship. Groff petitioned the Supreme Court for review and asked it to revisit Hardison.
Along with Professor Doug Laycock, Notre Dame Law School’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic filed amicus briefs on behalf of a broad coalition of legal scholars who study religious liberty or employment law. The briefs explain that Hardison’s definition of “undue hardship” cannot be squared with the statutory text and has undermined protection for religious workers across the country. They also demonstrate that the Establishment Clause allows reasonable accommodations like those enacted in Title VII.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that a “de minimis cost” does not suffice to establish “undue hardship” under Title VII. Rather, an employer denying a religious accommodation must show that the burden of granting the accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of the employer’s business.
Read Our Briefs
- Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioner (U.S.) (Feb. 28, 2023)
- Amicus Brief in Support of Certiorari (U.S.) (Sept. 26, 2022)
Court Decisions
U.S. Supreme Court
- Opinion (June 29, 2023)
Appellate Court (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit)
- Opinion (May 25, 2022)
Trial Court (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
- Memorandum Opinion (Apr. 6, 2021)
Media
- "Religious rights case of Christian postal worker" by June Grasso, published by Bloomberg Law (Apr. 20, 2023)
- "Supreme Court looks for common ground for postal worker who didn't want to work Sundays" by Carol Zimmermann, published by The Tablet (Apr. 18, 2023)
- "The post office made a Christian employee work on Sundays. Now he's at the Supreme Court" by Sanya Mansoor, published by TIME (Apr. 17, 2023)
- "Supreme Court to hear case of postal worker forced to work on Sundays" by Carol Zimmermann, published by The Tablet (Jan. 25, 2023)