WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court will review a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision finding that the U.S. Postal Service is not required to provide religious accommodation allowing a Lancaster County mailman to observe the Sabbath. Gerald Groff began as a mail carrier in 2012. When the post office started delivering packages on Sundays for Amazon, Groff chose to be reassigned to another post office that did not participate in Sunday deliveries, even though it came at the cost of his seniority, because it allowed him to follow his religious conscience. When Sunday deliveries began at that post office branch, he then asked for a religious accommodation to observe the Sabbath. The postmaster initially granted his request, but later the Postal Service offered only proposals that would still require Groff to work on Sundays and thereby violate his conscience. Groff resigned and filed suit. The district court sided with the USPS, concluding that accommodating Groff would pose an undue hardship on the Postal Service. The Third Court upheld that decision. Attorneys for Groff argue that, as a federal employee, Groff was protected by Title VII from discrimination based on his religious beliefs and practices.
