Religious Accommodation In A Post-Groff Employment Landscape

As the Supreme Court's session was concluding, the Supreme Court issued Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, No. 22-174 (June 29, 2023), an opinion that changes the employment landscape as it pertains to religious accommodation for employers.

In Groff, the Supreme Court held, "Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended] requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business." (Emphasis supplied.) Although the Court stated it was not overruling previous precedent, this ruling signals a significant shift in how employers must respond to an employee's request for religious accommodation.