Move FM Global News

WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by former mail carrier in Pennsylvania who accused the US Postal Service of religious bias, after he was reprimanded for refusing to work on Sundays.

After lower courts dismissed the claim of evangelical Christian Gerald Groff that the Postal Service violated federal anti-discrimination law, the justices took up the case.

Groff, from Holtwood, Pennsylvania, said the service refuse to exempt him from working on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath. The case is expected to be argued in the coming months and decided by the end of June.

Groff was required to fill in as needed for absent career carriers, but he repeatedly did not show up for Sunday shifts assigned as part of the Postal Service’s contract to deliver Amazon.com packages.

According to court papers, his absences caused resentment among others carriers, who had to cover his shifts.

Groff received several disciplinary letters before resigning in 2019.

The case will center on a federal anti-discrimination law, “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

Under the law, employers must reasonably accommodate a worker’s religious observance or practices, unless that would cause the business “undue hardship.”

In 2022, the Supreme Court further reduced the separation of church and state in a case involving two Christian families who challenged a Maine tuition assistance program, which excluded private religious schools. At that time, the Supreme Court further endorsed more public funding for religious entities.