Gerald E. Groff v. Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General

Sunday rest and roster workers. Notion of "undue hardship" for the employer. Reasonable accommodation of the worker's religious demands.

Title VII, Civil Rights Act 1964 

1. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964, employers are obligated to accommodate the religious practices of their employees if it does not pose an "undue hardship" to their business. In this case, with 600,000 employees available to turn over and work on Sundays, the Court ruled unanimously in favour of the plaintiff, who was forced to resign from his employment with the U.S. Postal Service. 

2. Title VII requires an employer who denies a religious accommodation to prove the existence of a substantial increase in costs, the argument that forcing other employees to work overtime does not constitute per se an undue hardship. 

(The plaintiff was an employee working for the U.S. Postal Service who was hired under an employment contract that provided that he was not required to work on Sundays. Following an intervening agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon, Groff was no longer allowed to abstain from Sunday work and was forced to resign)