The Supreme Court made it clear that the Constitution does not “‘compel the government to purge from the public sphere’ anything an objective observer could reasonably infer endorses or ‘partakes of the religious.’” Now, the court is ensuring that religious Americans need not leave their faith at home when they go to work.

In a unanimous, landmark decision handed down today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a major victory to former postal carrier Gerald Groff against the United States Postal Service, after Groff lost his job for observing the Sunday Sabbath.

The court held that federal law requires workplaces to accommodate their religious employees unless doing so would cause substantial costs for the business. Previously, employers could avoid granting religious accommodations to employees of faith simply by pointing to minimal effects.

This decision means that more employers with at least 15 employees in every state in the country will be legally required to respect their religious employees by granting them accommodations. Employees of faith often seek religious accommodations to honor their holy days, to take prayer breaks during the day, to dress according to their religious beliefs, or to otherwise not be forced to violate their religious beliefs on the job.

Read More