Joyce Goldstein, labor lawyer with Joyce Goldstein and Associates, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning religious accommodations for a United States Postal Service employee. Goldstein then talked about the impact of the decision and what it could mean for the labor movement.
Speaking on the recent decision by the Supreme Court in Groff v DeJoy to overturn a lower court ruling, Goldstein explained what led to the high court’s decision. She explained how the case focused on USPS, which did not accommodate an employee's religious belief to not work on Sundays. The former employee claimed that it was the obligation of USPS to accommodate his religious beliefs. However, the employer claimed the accommodation would create undue hardship for other employees.
The lower courts sided with the employer and ruled that it would have caused undue hardship on the operation of the business. The decision by the Supreme Court to overturn this ruling will force the lower courts to determine if the accommodation would have caused “significant” undue hardship to the employer. Goldstein pointed out that the hardship includes not only any financial hardship but also any hardships to the other workers. This decision could cause a ripple effect on the labor movement, where any strikes could potentially be considered a hardship on non-union workers and potentially workers in other parts of the supply chain.
In Goldstein’s early days of practicing labor law, she argued a similar case. However, she represented a worker who had to work extra Sundays and was denied a religious exemption. The employer, in this case, had negotiated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement that employees would work on Sundays on a rotating schedule. After a worker claimed a religious accommodation was needed, the employer granted it. The courts determined in that case that the employer had no right to make the accommodation as it would cause undue hardship to the other workers. With this history of a similar case, it was no surprise to Goldstein how each court made its decision.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.