Former postal worker Gerald E. Groff brought his case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Tuesday, arguing that the postal service should be required to accommodate his religious beliefs by allowing him to have every Sunday off.
Groff is an Evangelical Christian and Sunday Sabbath observer. When he began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 2012 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, there was no problem with his work schedule. Later, however, Groff became a “Rural Carrier Associate” or “RCA,” (a position lacking set hours), and the USPS contracted with Amazon to deliver packages seven days a week.
At first, Groff simply negotiated a schedule with his supervisor whereby he worked extra shifts during the week and had Sundays off. Later, however, the National Rural Letter Carriers Union, of which Groff was a member, entered into a collective-bargaining agreement that applied to all RCAs. Under the terms of that agreement, all RCAs, including Groff, had to work on some Sundays, and no special exceptions would be made for Sabbath observers. Groff requested additional accommodation, and his supervisor permitted Groff to forego Sunday work so long as he found a replacement RCA to cover his shift.
Groff’s accommodation did not solve the problem, however, and he missed over two dozen of his assigned Sunday shifts. Knowing termination was likely imminent, Groff resigned from his position in 2019, then filed a federal lawsuit arguing that he had been a victim of...
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