Republicans urge justices to interpret a law to better accommodate employees’ religious observance The Supreme Court building is seen at dusk in Washington in 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could expand religious protections for workers under a law changed in 1972, an interpretation backed by some congressional Republicans. The case stems from a suit brought by a rural mail carrier in Pennsylvania who quit rather than deliver Amazon packages on Sundays because of his Christian religion and then sued the U.S. Postal Service for discrimination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled in the Postal Service’s favor, citing a landmark decision from the Supreme Court in 1977, Transworld Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, that found employers did not have to bear “undue hardship” to accommodate employees’ religious observance. The postal carrier, Gerald Groff, argued in court papers that the 1977 decision tamped down on the religious rights of employees that Congress meant to protect in the 1972 amendments to the Civil Rights Act. Groff’s brief to the Supreme Court argued the justices should instead adopt a higher standard for employers to comply with, such as what […]
