America’s Supreme Court weighs religious accommodations in the workplace

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Gerald Groff, a former postal worker whose case will be argued before the Supreme Court, stands during a television interview near a "Now Hiring" sign posted at the roadside at the United State Postal Service, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Quarryville, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) — Image: AP

Apr 20th 2023|WASHINGTON, DC

When gerald groff took a job as a pinch-hitting mail carrier for the United States Postal Service in 2012, his strict observance of the Christian sabbath posed no problem. But after the USPS started doing business with Amazon a year later—delivering the internet giant’s packages every day of the week—those Sabbatarian commitments became an issue. Mr Groff’s rural-Pennsylvania bosses found ways to accommodate him for a time, but colleagues grew weary of taking his shifts and he was instructed to report on Sundays. Mr Groff refused, drawing letters of reprimand and suspensions. Eventually, in 2019, he quit.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Postal piety”