The US Supreme Court appeared hesitant to overturn decades-old precedent that has made it relatively easy for businesses to deny workers’ religious accommodation requests, with some justices saying it’s on Congress to take legislative action.
Several justices pushed back Tuesday against a Christian former US Postal Service worker’s bid to undo the high court’s 1977 decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, which says employers only need to show that a requested accommodation under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act would impose a minimal, “undue” burden to be able to reject it.
Gerald Groff had objected to delivering packages for Amazon.com Inc. on Sundays and requested an accommodation allowing him to avoid working that day on religious grounds. A divided US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit panel relied on Hardison to affirm a lower court ruling in favor of the Postal Service.