U.S. Supreme Court Toughens Religious Accommodation Standard Under Title VII

Key Takeaways:

• With its decision in Groff v. DeJoy, the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer must demonstrate granting a religious accommodation would result in substantial increased costs to the employer to justify an accommodation denial.
• The 9-0 decision nullified a line of lower court cases permitting an employer to deny a religious accommodation if it could show that accommodation would cause a cost that is more than de minimis, or minimal.
• As a result of the Groff decision, it will now be more difficult for employers to deny employees religious accommodations.

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States revisited an employer's obligation to provide religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), heightening the standard employers will have to meet to deny such an accommodation. In Groff v. DeJoy, the Supreme Court rejected the standard that had been adopted by lower courts in previous cases,