Court Grants Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
Breakpoint
Colson Center
4.8 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 July 2023
⏱️ 1 minutes
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Summary
The cases involving affirmative action and Lorie Smith and 303 Creative have received the most attention from the recent Supreme Court term, but another ruling has important implications for religious liberty. The Court ruled that U.S. Post Office employee Gerald Groff could not be forced to work on Sundays.
Thanks are due to Groff and his lawyers at The First Liberty Institute. In the past, employers could get away with merely offering lip service to religious exemptions for workers because any vaguely defined "undue hardship" for the bosses overrode their faith concerns. Now, employers must demonstrate that accommodating an employee's faith would entail a "substantial increased cost" before demanding their conformity.
The ruling is a final blow to the "now abrogated" Lemon Test that hampered religious liberty for a half-century. It also provides legal standing for challenging other impositions on religious liberty at work—such as being forced to use "preferred pronouns," or post rainbow flags, or join "pride" marches.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | With a woman-a-look at culture from a Christian worldview, I'm John Stone Street with the point. |
| 0:04.6 | The case is involving affirmative action in Lori Smith and Three-A-Thru Creative have |
| 0:08.0 | received the most attention from this recent Supreme Court term, but another ruling has |
| 0:12.1 | important implications for religious liberty as well. |
| 0:15.0 | The court ruled that U.S. Post Office employee Gerald Groff could not be forced to work on |
| 0:19.0 | Sundays. |
| 0:20.0 | Banks is due to Groff and his lawyers at the First Liberty Institute. |
| 0:23.2 | See in the past, employers could get away with offering lip service to religious exemptions |
| 0:27.1 | for workers because any vaguely defined undue hardship for the boss overrode the faith |
| 0:32.8 | concerns. |
| 0:33.8 | Now employers must demonstrate that accommodating an employee's faith would entail a substantial |
| 0:39.0 | increased cost before they can demand conformity. |
| 0:42.1 | This ruling is a final blow to the now-abrogated lemon test that hampered religious liberty |
| 0:46.7 | for a half century, and it provides legal standing for challenging other impositions on |
| 0:50.8 | liberty, such as being forced to use preferred pronoun or post-Rainbow flags or join pride |
| 0:55.9 | marches. |
| 0:56.9 | For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. |
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