Faithful Carrier Gerald Groff just won his case at the U.S. Supreme Court

Today, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gerald in his case against the U.S. Postal Service after Groff lost his job for observing the Lord’s Day.  

The decision strengthens legal protections for employees seeking religious accommodations, such as schedule changes to observe holy days. The far-reaching decision affects employment rights at every workplace with at least 15 employees in every state in the country. 

The Court held that federal law requires workplaces to accommodate their religious employees unless doing so would cause substantial increased cost on the business. Previously, employers could avoid granting religious accommodations to employees of faith simply by pointing to trifling, minimal, or “de minimis” effects.

This decision means that more employers will be legally required to respect their religious employees by granting them accommodations. Employees of faith often seek religious accommodations to honor their holy days, to take prayer breaks during the day, to dress according to their religious beliefs, or to otherwise not be forced to violate their religious beliefs on the job.