US Supreme Court rules to uphold religious accommodations for employees

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Thursday in Groff v. DeJoy to uphold meaningful religious accommodations in the workplace for employees of all faiths:

“Federal law protects employees’ ability to live and work according to their religious beliefs. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious practice unless doing so imposes undue hardships on their operations. For too long, that duty had been erased by a misguided court ruling. Thankfully, the Supreme Court clarified Trans World Airlines v. Hardison and affirmed that Title VII requires employers to grant religious accommodations in the absence of substantial additional costs in relation to the business. And coworker dislike of religious beliefs or practices is ‘off the table’ for consideration when making that assessment. This standard protects all Americans’ right to live and work in a manner consistent with their faith.”

ADF attorneys filed two friend-of-the-court briefs with the Supreme Court in this case: The first in September 2022 urging the court to take the case and the second in February of this year after the court agreed to do so. Both briefs were filed on behalf of John Kluge, a former Indiana music teacher who, in a separate case of his own, is challenging a public school’s decision to revoke his Title VII accommodation based on ideological complaints about his religious beliefs, which then forced Kluge to resign.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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