(March 6, 2023 / JNS) Ahead of next month’s U.S. Supreme Court case about Sabbath observance in the workplace, several mainstream U.S. Jewish groups have joined Orthodox ones by weighing in on the matter.
On April 18, the high court will hear an appeal in case number 22-174, Groff v. DeJoy. An evangelical Christian postal worker, Gerald Groff refused to work on Sundays, his Sabbath. He offered to work make-up shifts or transfer to other branches to maintain his religious day of rest.
But the Pennsylvania man said that the U.S. Postal Service—an independent agency of the federal government—forced him out of his job in 2019, after placing the onus on him to regularly find replacements. This followed a USPS agreement with Amazon to deliver on Sundays, which the postal service did not do previously. Facing termination after multiple disciplinary actions, Groff opted to resign.